Reality
by SimplyBel
Summary: Alan is suffering from nightmares, he can only trust Scott. But when the Hood makes a brief reappearance, Alan can no longer tell the difference between his dreams or real life. The rest of the family are adamant to get answers but Scott takes things into his own hands.
1. Chapter 1: Running

He was running. Out of the villa, down the terrace steps, past the pool, onto the beach and into the depths of the jungle. He did not stop. He did not dare to look behind him. He just ran. He could hear footsteps behind him as he dodged through the trees and vines; they were close.

_"they are coming for you Alan.."_

"No! stop it! Get out of my head!" Alan screamed as he ran further and further from his home.

_"they don't love you, they want to hurt you…"_

"No they don't, they care for me!" he tried to reassure himself.

"_Why don't you turn around and prove it..."_

Alan resisted the urge to turn around and confront his tormenters.

"What have you done to them? Let them go!" Alan's mind was swimming as he jumped over roots. Why were they after him? What did he do wrong?

"_They hate you Alan. You should have died in that avalanche, not your mother. They blame you.."_

"Stop—it. Stop it—please." Alan was crying now, tears streaming down his ashen face. He was finding it hard to breathe; he was choking on the lump in the back of his throat. He swallowed hard to remove it but it did not move. He started coughing, he was dizzy and disorientated. He lost his footing and fell… and fell… and fell…and all went dark.

_"Open your eyes Alan. They are here. They want to see you open your eyes Alan..."_

Alan fluttered his eyelids slightly. He tried to stop himself from seeing what he saw next, but his blue eyes were forced open. As he lay on the ground he took in his surroundings. He had fallen down a slope that led to a stream and he had landed just at the edge of the water on his stomach. On any other occasion, Alan would have loved his surroundings at this moment. He groaned as he rolled over onto his back and froze.

_"See, Alan? They are here. I told you so. Did you really think that you could outrun them?..."_

He looked up at the five faces that were glaring down at him. Anger and hatred filled their eyes. The lump in Alan's throat reappeared as he five bodies descended on him. Alan tried to scream but no sound came out. He tried to yell for his family but then it hit him… These five people who were trying to hurt him, these five tormenters were his family.

The faces became clearer and he saw John, his second oldest brother with a sneer on him face as he lent down to Alan's level. Virgil, his third oldest brother, a look of triumph on his face and he simply stood and watched Alan cry. Gordon, his fourth oldest brother, his red hair like a flame as he too descended on Alan with a look of pure evil. Alan cried out as someone restrained his flailing arms behind his back. He turned to see his father, angry like never before holding him down to the ground. He closed his eyes. "This can't be happening!"

_"Oh, but Alan it is. They hate you, look at them. They are trying to hurt you. Even your own father!"_

"No!" Alan yelled out as all went dark and pain shot through his now limp body.


	2. Chapter 2: Something's Wrong

Alan awoke with a start. He instantly sat up in his bed. Bad idea. His head was swimming once more like in his dream and his vision went blurry. "That's all it was" he muttered to himself, "a dream, just a dream". He was sweating all over, and his face was wet with tears. The dream had been the worse one yet, the voice in his head was clearer. It was the Hood. The guy who tried to kill his family and rob the bank of London. The guy who knew their identity and how to inflict pain through their minds. Now, according to Alan's dreams, he was controlling his brothers and father against him. "Thank goodness Scott isn't here to see me like this." he said, whipping away the tears and settling back down. Scott was the eldest Tracy brother and the most protective man Alan had ever met in his life. He knew Scott would die for his brothers and always had to know what was going on, even if it was just a stupid dream. "That's all it was, a stupid dream". As he settled back down again it occurred to Alan that Scott was the only brother who didn't appear in his dream.

"Maybe it was a sign…" Alan began to think but was cut off by the sound of the emergency klaxon. He jumped out of bed, pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and ran down to the lab to see which country needed the Thunderbirds next.

As he made his way into the room through the double doors he froze, he didn't know why, but the sight of his dad and the three brothers from his dream scared him to death. He went instantly pale and was glued to the spot. Only when he heard someone calling him from behind did he snap out of his thoughts. He turned to see Scott jogging town the corridor towards the lab, a look of concern on his face as his eyes met his youngest brother. "You all right, Sprout?" he asked as he closed the gap between them

Alan blinked out of his daze and nodded slightly, the colour flooded back into his face and he stepped into the lab. He felt incredibly safe knowing that Scott was there even though by now every member of his family was looking as him. He just smiled thinly and walked up to the desk that they were all crowding round. Virgil was regarding Alan with a similar look of concern on his face as Scott but Alan shrugged it off and concentrated on the job in hand.

"What seems to be the problem" he asked his father who too was looking at Alan's pale features.

"A fire in Berlin, a block of flats. The local fire service managed to get all that they could out but there are two floors that they couldn't reach in time so they called International Rescue." Said Jeff as he turned from Alan to look up at the news headlines on the screen behind him. All of the boys could see the panic in the city as the building rose up in flames.

"Okay, Alan, you're on Mobile Command. You tell your brothers what floor the victims are on and the best way to get there. Use the heat sensors to detect the victims. Virgil, as the team medic, I want you to set up a medical base on TB 2, prepare for second degree burn and a short flight to the local hospital. Scott, John, Gordon, suit up in fire gear, gas masks, oxygen tanks, the lot. This looks like tricky job. All communicators on please, I want to keep in touch at all times. Brains, Fermat and Tin-tin, you guys up on TB 5 let me know if there is a change in the situation. Okay boys?"

A chorus of "Yes sir's filled the room and all of the boys ran to the silo doors and disappeared down the cutes to their crafts. "Thunderbirds are go!" said Jeff as he saluted all of his boys.

Alan ran to TB 2 with Virgil. He had no idea how this rescue  
was going to go. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brothers, he didn't trust himself. He only recently became a Thunderbird and he knew all of his brothers were proud of him, but considering how fragile his mind was the moment, he wasn't sure if he should be with anyone except Scott.

"This is stupid, why would you think that! They all care for you, not just Scott!" He muttered to himself.

"Sorry, what was that Sprout?" asked Virgil

"Oh—nothing, don't worry. Oh! Are we nearly there already?" Alan asked wide-eyed in amazement as he looked out the window. He didn't even realise they had left, let alone that they were flying above Europe!

"Yes, Alan. Are you okay?" Virgil was concerned once more, his little brother looked positively ill and exhausted. As the medic, he was always concerned for all of his brothers' health.

"Yes, Virgil I'm fine! And we concentrate on flying please!" Alan snapped. He didn't mean to sound that annoyed but he was so tired. Virgil was taken aback by his brother's tone of voice and put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Sure thing, Sprout. Sorry!" Now Virgil was worried, he would talk to Scott about it later. Right now, Alan was right; they needed to concentrate on the rescue at hand.

"Oh, and don't call me Sprout!" Alan muttered but Virgil heard clear enough.

"There is definitely something wrong with that kid", he thought.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rescue

Scott's voice boomed over the intercom speaker "…_and let me know when you are landing in the danger zone."_

"FAB Scott." Replies Virgil. The journey to Germany had been awkwardly silent between Alan and his third oldest brother. Virgil's worries grew even more due to this fact as Alan was usually so enthusiastic about all rescues, asking questions like the always annoying "Are we there yet?". But so far, not a sound has come from Alan since the conversation earlier where he bit off Virgil's head! By now, Virgil wasn't contemplating whether he was going to speak with Scott, he was adamant that after the rescue, he was going to release all of his worries on his oldest brother. He knew it was unfair on Alan to set 'mother-hen' off on him but he couldn't let this episode slide. Scott was a mother-hen to all his brothers, hence the nick name but after Lucy (their mother) died in an avalanche on a skiing holiday when Alan was three and Jeff threw himself into work, Scott practically raised young Alan. He taught him how to ride a bike, took him to school for the first time and took care of his nightmares once they moved from Kansas to their own island. Alan depended on Scott more than his father and it took years for the father-son-relationship to build once Alan has his dad back.

"Alan, we are just approaching the danger zone, get ready." Virgil said as he flipped loads of controls, preparing to land. "Scott, we are just landing. See you by the building"

_"FAB Virgil"_

Virgil turned to see that his youngest brother had not moved, he had his back turned to Virgil and his head rested on one of the control panels of his TB. "ALAN!" Yelled Virgil. Alan jumped, his head sprung up off the control panel and he spun around in his chair to face his brother.

"Wha—What?" Asked Alan as he rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"You were asleep! During a rescue! ALAN! What were you thinking?" Shouted Virgil as he landed his craft and stared at his brother. Alan just looked shocked. "I mu-must have drifted off. Sorry Virg. Won't happen again."

"Too right it won't! Okay, I'll forget it and won't tell anyone so long as you promise not to do it again, saving lives isn't just a walk in the park Alan, you don't just 'drift off'…" Virgil's words meant nothing to Alan. All he could hear was disappointment and anger. Like in his dreams. He instantly paled and shuddered at the thought that he was dreaming now. "No" he told himself, "no you are not dreaming, Virgil is just disappointed that you fell asleep on a rescue, he is right! I can't let that happen again."

By this time, Virgil had trailed off and was on his feet looking down at his pale, shaking brother. He rested a hand on Alan's shoulder and Alan flinched in response, blinked and shook his head. "Alan, are you alri-"

"Yes! Sorry Virg." , said Alan jumping up beside his brother. "No, it won't happen again, I promise. Thanks for not telling." And with that Alan was on the lowered ramp of the ramp and was running towards TB 1 which was just landing across the street. Virgil was left stood there staring after his brother. "Sorry Scotty, all the more worry for you when you find out about this, I know I promised Allie that no one would find out, his behaviour is odd." Virgil chuckled to himself as he ran out over to his brothers as they exited their crafts thinking about Scott's reaction to all of this.

Ten minutes later, Virgil was looking after 3 patients in his temporary clinic in TB 2, Alan seemed to be okay again and was directing Scott, John and Gordon through the maze of the burning building. "The next victim should be up one more flight of stairs on your left John. The heat sensors say that the body is moving so they are still alive thankfully."

_"Thanks Sprout, Gordon I've got this last one, you and Scott get out of here" _Said John over his watch intercom.

"_FAB John" _said Gordon and Scott simultaneously.

Another ten minutes they were all clearing up and Virgil had returned from dropping off the victims at the local hospital. "_Right boys, good job. Come back home now_ . _Alan, Virg, Gordon and John you're on TB 2. Scott your flying solo in TB 1 to see if you can do it single handily since your accident with the Hood. I don't doubt that you can't do it but I just want to try now, not risk it during a rescue. See you soon boys" said Jeff through the speakers._

_"FAB dad" _said Scott. Right guys, you heard'em. Off we go." All of the boys headed off in different directions to finish something in particular. Virgil and Gordon went to pack away the medical kit back into TB 2 whilst Scott and John headed over to thank the German Police. Alan was left standing there and for some reason he was scared to go home. It meant two hours in Thunderbird 2 with all of the brothers from his terrible dreams. What if Virgil told them that he fell asleep and they all got angry? With this thought, Alan raced to TB 1 careless to the fact that he was going against his father's orders.

Virgil, John and Gordon climbed into TB2 and watched Scott take off. "FAB Scott, just following you now. Alan? You alright?" yelled Virgil. No answer. "ALAN!" no answer.

Virgil reached for the intercom. "Scott! WHERE'S ALAN?!"


	4. Chapter 4: The Deserved Explanation

_"What do you mean you 'lost him'!" _Scott yelled down the intercom "_He was right with you! Why didn't you check before you set off that everyone was accounted for?"_

"Get off my back, Scott, don't you think I'm beating myself up here anyways, without you grabbing a stick and joining in!" Virgil growled back to his eldest brother. He already felt bad, he had already lost one brother. He did not want to lose another over an argument.

_"Watch your tone, Virgil..."_Scott started to reply but was interrupted by an incoming call from Tracy Island.

"This should be good" he heard Gordon mutter over the intercom.

"Yes commander, this is TB 1" Said Scott in an official voice now, "What's the problem, I just left the danger zone and TB 2 is just about to follow?"

_"Yes, thanks Op1 but no thanks. I heard all of that. Virgil, John, Gordon, where is Alan?"_ Jeff was serious but all of his boys knew well enough that he was trying to hold in his anger.

"That's just it, dad, we don't know. He was here a moment ago and then we went…oh." Virgil trailed off

"You went where?" said Jeff, beginning to show flashes of anger as he tried to compose his voice.

"Well, Gordon and I packed away the med-kit aboard TB 2 whilst Scott and John went to thank to police I think. We must have lost him there!"

"But I don't understand" said John finally, he had been quiet all the way through Scott and Virgil's argument, "why would Alan just run off. What haven't we noticed." Out of the corner of his intercom screen, Scott saw Virgil flinch at John's words.

"Virgil…" Said Scott menacingly "What haven't **you** told us". Virgil looked uncomfortable as four sets of eyes were on him.

"I promised I wouldn't say anything but Alan fell asleep on the way here and when I awoke him, he looked petrified. He was all white and shaking, like he was this morning in the lab. I just thought he was tired but…" Virgil trailed off again.

"Virgil, John, Gordon. Find him before you leave the danger zone and then…" Jeff began

"No need." Said Scott suddenly

"What?" everyone else said at once.

"I found him." Scott sighed a sigh of relief and all his family saw it on their screens. "He is here, on TB 1 by the looks of it. I tracked his watch and it has life signs so he is still wearing it. He didn't just dump it on here and hope we wouldn't find him. Looks like he wanted to be found. He locked himself in the on-board storage cupboard. I'll go and get him"

"Good thinking, Scott. Tell him I want a few words with him when you get back. Tracy Island out." As his father signed off, Scott was left looking at three of his youngest brothers.

"Don't be too hard on him Scotty. If Virg is right then there may be something wrong with Allie" Said John.

"Okay, Thunderbird 1 out" Scott signed off and put his 'bird in auto pilot for the long journey home. He walked down the corridors and stopped outside the storage locker where Alan was located.

"Alan? Are you in there? I think we need to talk." Scott said firmly, he wanted to know why his youngest brother had deliberately disobeyed their father. When no answer came Scott lost it and kicked down the door. He stepped inside the huge locker filled with shelves of emergency food and supplies and scanned it until he spotted Alan curled up in the corner, his eyes wide with fear. "Allie?" Scott asked "are you alright?"

Alan had hid in the storage locker for about 15 minutes, he knew his brothers would find him eventually, he just prayed to God that it would be Scott. "Sc-Scott?" he said, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Yeah, Allie it's me. What the he… What are you doing here?" Scott corrected himself. Alan didn't care about it at this point though. He threw himself into Scott's chest and sobbed. Scott was taken aback by this but nonetheless, he scooped up his little brother into his arms and carried him out of the locker into the cockpit. Alan's tears had drenched Scott's uniform by the time he had finished but Scott carried on staring and soothing his baby brother regardless.

"Spill it, Sprout." Scott said steadily, careful not to scare his already terrified brother. Alan looked up at Scott and wiped away his last tear. "_I'm a fifteen year old for goodness sake!"_ He thought to himself. He adjusted himself in his chair where Scott had placed him and tried to open his mouth to speak. Scott deserved the truth, after all, he was the only one Alan trusted at the moment. But Alan found it so difficult to give him the explanation to his actions. He was so tired, so exhausted that he breathed out the explanation as he closed his eyes a drifted off into a deep sleep. Feeling safe and protected, he didn't finish his sentence as the dark took over him.

"Scotty- the Hood-don't hurt me—I'm sorry—mum…" Alan trailed off but Scott heard all of it. His eyes widened at the last word. He was going to press Alan for more information but he saw the pained expression on his brother's face and let him sleep.

He would get it out of Alan when they got home, after he explained to dad that Alan had been so exhausted that he misheard his father's orders and went to the storage cupboard on TB 1 to pack away his supplies but fell asleep in the process. He hated lying to his family but he didn't trust his dad not to get angry with Alan even when he was obviously ill. Scott sighed "You better have a good, long explanation for all this Allie".


	5. Chapter 5: Confusion and Trust

**Disclaimer: Should have been at the begining :/ I unfortunately don't own the Thunderbirds.**

**Sorry this is a short chapter, the next one is longer. Promise! **

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Scott circle TB 1 around Tracy Island and landed his 'bird safely in her silo. As the ramp opened he picked up the still sleeping Alan in the crook of both of his arms and carried him safely down to the ground. He thought he could just slip him into his bedroom and no one would notice. No such luck. His dad was waiting for him; arms crossed and foot tapping- obviously reading to speak with his youngest. Although TB 1 was a lot faster than TB 2, Scott could already hear Virgil's 'bird landing in her own silo and three pairs of footsteps running towards where he and his father were.

Virgil, John and Gordon skidded to a halt at the entrance of Thunderbird one's silo and stared at the scene before them. Scott was standing at the bottom of TB 1's ramp with Alan limp in his arms. Alan's face was streamed with tears and Scott's uniform was soaked. John glanced over at his dad and realised that he was looking at Scott with the same regard as himself. Confusion.

Virgil, being the medic, rushed out to Scott's side and checked Alan's vitals. "He's fine." Said Scott sullenly. "He's just exhausted." with that, Scott walked passed Virgil, passed his father and through the double doors to the lift that would take him back up to the house. As the doors closed, John noticed Alan wasn't the only one who looked exhausted. Scott looked dreadful, as if someone had died. He rushed towards the sliding doors and jammed his foot between them, they instantly opened and he stepped inside. Scott glared at him but John didn't budge. He had to find out what was going on. The second the lift stopped, Scott was out, gliding down the corridors to Alan's room. John tried to keep up but once he reached Alan's door it was closed. He knew better than to intrude Scott when he was mother-henning from past experience. He sighed and made his way back towards the family room where he knew everyone else would be by now.

As he entered he saw the looks of anger and worry on all of his family's faces. He sat down next to Gordon and whispered in his ear. Gordon chuckled and out of the door from where John has just come from. John knew that convincing Gordon that Alan wouldn't get off that easily with Scott would cheer him up. We all know how Scott could be, especially when worried.

Back in Alan's room, Scott lay Alan out on him bed and pushed his blond hair out of his closed eyes. Suddenly they shot open and Alan lurched upwards! "NO! GET OFF ME! SCOTT!" he yelled. Scott automatically pulled him into a tight embrace and rubbed his back.

"It's alright Allie. It's just me. Shhhhh." Scott soothed until he felt Alan's shivering cease. "Want to give me that explanation now?" Scott asked gently. To his surprize, his usually stubborn brother nodded and pulled himself out of the hug. "Well?" Scott asked "What's going on Alan?"

Alan closed his eyes and composed himself, when he re-opened them he looked directly into his brother's eyes. "Scott, you're the only person I can talk about this. You're the only one I can trust. Please understand that you can't tell anyone else about what's happening. Promise you won't tell?" Scott looked thoughtful for a moment, intrigued by Alan's begging, but he nodded and Alan continued.

"I've been getting these dreams, no, not dreams, nightmares for weeks now all of them the same, some just worse than others. I am running and there is this voice in my head, the Hood's, telling me my greatest fear. That my family doesn't care for me." A tear made its way down Alan's cheek and Scott looked at his brother in shock. "How could you think that Alan?" Scott said, whipping the tear from his brother's face. Alan looked down at his lap as he carried on.

"It's easy when you think of the rest of the nightmare. I am running from something. Some people. A group who track me down every time and hurt me as I lie on the ground in the jungle by the stream. It feels so real because I know that place in reality but what makes it worse, is that the people chasing me; tormenting me and hurting me are my family. Everyone apart from you, Scott."

Scott's mouth fell open.

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**Next update should be soon! I have written the next like 12 chapters of this story as I started writing it before I decided to get a account :)**

**Can only update on here though when I have time; or internet access fot that matter. Next chapter, Scott gets confronted by the rest of the family! Reviews are loved 3**


	6. Chapter 6: Excuses and Closed Doors

**This chapter is loner than the last :) Enjoy xx**

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Alan closed his eyes and finally fell into a deep sleep. Scott was so relieved to eventually see his youngest brother at peace. Alan had been openly sobbing into Scott's shoulder whilst Scott attempted to sooth him and reassure him. Alan's outburst of emotions had shocked Scott but he was thankful that his brother had released what was obviously eating him up inside. He couldn't believe what his younger brother had been going through and had asked Alan why he didn't say anything earlier. Once the younger blonde explained his fears of being alone with his other siblings from his dreams, Scott understood why he had hidden after the rescue. It had been at least an hour since Alan's nightmare and Scott was fully aware that the rest of the family would be fretting and worried crazy. He knew what he had to do. He had to lie for Alan because he had promised not to tell the others about his recurring dreams. He had gotten Alan's trust and he didn't want to lose it now by making the wrong decision.

All of a sudden, Scott's watch beeped and when he answered it, his father's face appeared on the little screen. "Scott, I need you in the lounge now please." Jeff's voice sounded serious and Scott knew what this was going to be about. As if on cue, Jeff spoke again and confirmed Scott's thoughts. "We need to talk about what happened after the rescue. All of us." Scott knew better than to argue back to his father and decided that it was time to give his and Alan's excuses across to the rest of the family.

"Yeah Dad, sure thing. Just give me five..." Scott began

"No Scott. Now. You have both been up there for over an hour and it is about time you came down to talk to us." Jeff interrupted. "I will see you both in one minute Scott and…" This time it was Scott who interrupted his father.

"Whoa! Dad. It is one thing that you want me to come down stairs and leave Alan, but there is no way in h… sorry, I mean there is absolutely no way that Alan is coming down stairs, or leaving this room in fact." Scott saw the anger rising in Jeff's face, "Sorry Dad. You have no idea what he has been through. I'll be down in one minute like you said, but Alan is remaining here, in his room, in his bed." With that, Scott disconnected the call, he knew his father would be angry but if that argument went on for any longer, it would have gotten louder, and that would risk waking Alan. It was this thought of waking his younger brother that made Scott leave Alan's room without a goodbye. He could not stand another hour of tears if Alan awoke and refused to sleep again. Scott was strong, physically stronger than any of the brothers and mentally stronger on rescues if a victim died, but one thing that could almost certainly break him, was if a brother was hurt or in danger.

Scott made across Alan's room, which was littered with school paperwork and clothes. He had one last glance back over to the bed from which he could hear Alan's slow breathing, then he silently opened the door, leaving it open in case he heard screaming later on. He stepped out of the room and jogged down the stairs, as he walked towards the family lounge, he could hear is family talking.

"I don't get it! Why go and hide up there for two hours with Scott! I thought Scott would kill him after what he did!" that was Gordon's voice.

"We all know how protective Scott can be, over all of us. But yes, I do agree, why spend so much time away from the family and be with Scott if he was trying to obviously get our attention by hiding in the first place?" that was Virgil, but it was also Scott's last straw. He stormed into the room, startling his brothers and his father. Gordon who was perched on the arm of the sofa, fell off, Virgil and John who were on the sofa both jumped and his father who was stood in the centre of the room with his arms folded snapped his head up suddenly at the sound of Scott's voice.

"He was NOT trying to get our attention!" Scott boomed.

"Blimey, Scotty!" said Gordon sarcastically as he picked himself off of the floor and re-perched himself on the arm of the sofa.

"What was he doing then Scott? Eh?" Said Virgil, standing up and facing Scott, "Care to share?" Scott's glare sent him back down to his seat as quickly as he had stood up. Virgil was not as tall as Scott, and never would be, he was a loving brother but when Scott was in this kind of a mood, he was incredibly intimidating to Virgil.

"Well?" said John expectantly. Scoot inwardly sighed, now it begins, he thought, the interrogation. At this point Jeff signalled for Scott to take a seat in the chair opposite his brother and Jeff made a move to perch on the other end of the sofa to Gordon. Now they were all looking at Scott.

"Alan is exhausted. Not just tired, not just sleepy, but physically and mentally exhausted. He did not hear Dad's command as he was in a daze, the same kind of daze that Vigil said he was in when we arrived at the rescue. When we all left to do our separate jobs, Alan found suddenly alone and made his way to TB 1 to pack away his supplies in the storage cupboard. Exhaustion washed over him and he fell asleep in the corner. That's it." Scott looked at all of the faces of his family. Gordon and Virgil looked satisfied with that explanation, John looked confused, probably about Alan's tiredness but Jeff was shaking his head and looking at the floor.

"Don't lie to me Scott." He said, looking up and making direct eye contact with his oldest son. Scott looked taken aback. Even if his father knew he was lying, he was not just going to blurt out the truth.

"What? Dad, of course I'm not lying, why..."

"Scott! I can tell. Now you are going to give us the truth!" Jeff said sternly, his voice getting gradually louder.

Before Scott could argue back there was a scream and crashing noises coming from directly above them. "ALAN!" Scott yelled, getting to his feet and running out of the room. He could hear footsteps behind him as he and his family made his way up the stairs. As they got to the landing, they only had to look towards Alan's room before they saw his door slamming shut. Scott rushed to the door.

"ALAN! Alan it's me. I'm coming in." said Scott as he pushed down on the handle and lent against the door. It didn't budge. "Oh for…" Scott began, but stopped when he realised his father was beside him. "Alan! It's Scott. Let me in please. I'm not going to hurt you. No one is. It was just a dream. See, you're in your room, not outside, and you're fine. Please let me in!" Scott begged as he leant against the door again with all of his might.

"What do you mean no one is going to hurt him?" Said Jeff, putting his hand on Scott's shoulders and spinning him around to face him.

"Scott, what's going on?" said Virgil, confused and agitated now.

"What aren't you telling us?" shouted Gordon, fists clenched.

"What dreams?" Yelled John. Scott ignored all of them and turned back to Alan's door. "Alan, it's Scotty. I will not hurt you or let anyone else hurt you. Remember what I said earlier?" He whispered into it. "Alan?"

"Scotty?" came a soft croak from inside the room. "Are you okay? Did they get you? Can you come in? Help me!" Alan's questions were loud enough for all of the boys to hear.

"Yeah Allie, I can come in. I can help you, just open the door." Soothed Scott.

"Okay."

"Right, here's what we are going to do." began Jeff. "Scott, when the door opens, open it fully so all of us can enter. John I want you to grab Alan and take him down to the infirmary where we can determine what is going on. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Came a chorus of apart from Scott. Jeff turned just in time to see Alan's door open and Scott quickly slip inside, close the door and re-lock it behind him.

"SCOTT CARPENTER TRACY!"

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**Things are starting to get a bit more interesting now ;) Will update soon. Please review xx**


	7. Chapter 7: Panic

As Scott's eyes got accustom to the dark of the room he began to make out familiar shapes. The wardrobe, chest of draws, bed and the mound of clothes in the corner. Scott froze; Alan's clothes were in the middle of the floor earlier, why would he move them. Then it dawned on Scott that the mound in the corner, the slumped over shape, was his brother. The shape seemed to be moving, vibrating, shaking and as Scott moving in towards the figure that was his brother, he realised Alan was crying.

Scott immediately sped up and went down onto his knees in front of his youngest sibling. "Allie? It's me. Talk to me Allie." Scott said in the softest voice possible. All of a sudden, the knocking and banging on the door started and Scott could hear all of his brothers shouting and yelling. As he turned his attention back to Alan, he saw his eyes white with fear and brimming with tears. Scott shuffled on his knees and leant against one of the walls that made up Alan's corner. "Alan." He said firmly, "Alan, look at he". Alan's eyes shifted from the door to his oldest brother who was looking down on him with a concerned look on his face. "Alan, listen to me. They are not going to hurt you, okay? I will not let them. It was just a dream okay? Please tell me you understand that." Alan nodded. "Not good enough Alan. This cannot be a one-sided interaction. Please TELL me that you understand that it was only a dream." Scott said the last bit seriously but Alan could see the love in his eyes.

"I understand. I can see now that it was just a dream, that they weren't really chasing me, that they weren't really hurting me and that they don't really blame me for mum's death. It all just seems so real, Scotty. But I'm a Thunderbird for goodness sake! I shouldn't need reassurance when it comes to my dreams." Alan began to shake with tears again, "I am so weak!" He sobbed.

"No Alan. You are not weak, you are so, so strong. Everyone needs reassurance from time to time and you are no different. Mum's death was due to a natural disaster and you were only 3 years old! Dad and our brothers would never lay a harmful hand on you, unless you dyed John's hair pink again or drained Gordon's precious pool like last time!" Scott noticed Alan give a slight smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Or when you turned off the hot water on Virgil's shower and convinced me that there was a mouse under my bed! I could have… I don't know what I could have done to you when I found out you were joking around but you had already run away! You know I'm afraid of mice!" Scott glanced over at Alan's shaking body but was relived to say the least when he noticed that it was shaking due to laughter, not tears.

"You scream like a girl Scott." Chuckled Alan, "you should have seen your face, I should have filmed it!" Scott playfully cuffed Alan round the back of his head and Alan repeated this gesture to Scott.

"Are you okay now Sprout?" Scott asked as he stood up and help Alan to his feet.

"Yeah. I guess. But I don't want to leave just yet. They are all going to kill me and you! I just got so scared when I woke up alone after my dream. It was worse. You were in it. I had dragged you into it and you were running with me, but then you disappeared and they attacked me and that's when I awoke." Alan slumped back down into the corner.

"Alan, I promise not to leave your side again until this is over. I'm so sorry that I didn't say anything before I left but I thought it was for the best." Scott sighed and sat back down next to his brother. Suddenly the voices outside got louder and the door was being strained to the point of snapping. Alan immediately sunk his head into Scott's chest and cried.

"I don't know why I'm so scared Scott. What will they say? Will they understand like you did? What will they do? Where will I go?" Alan muffled into Scott's shirt. Scott rubbed his hand in a circular motion on Alan's back like he used to when Alan was younger and sick.

"It's alright Allie. Shhhhh. Allie? Alan?" Scott snapped his head down to look at Alan's body. He was shaking uncontrollably and his breathing wasn't right.

"Alan! Look at me! Alan, sssssshh, just breathe."

"I—can't—breathe—Scotty. He—lp-m—m—me—PLEASE!"

"Alan, you're fine. Calm down. You can breathe, just relax and listen to my voice. Shhh. It's okay."

All of a sudden, the door burst open and four figures stood in the doorway. One of them found the light switch and it was only when the room was lit that Scott realised that he had been sat with Alan in total darkness. ALAN! He looked away from the approaching figures to try and comfort his youngest brother but the body on his lap had fallen limp and he was no longer crying or shaking.

"ALAN! WAKE UP!" Scott yelled jumping to his feet with Alan in his arms. The four figured were in front of him know, regarding him with a mixture of expressions ranging from anger to worry, Virgil was next to him an a flash and ignoring the whole situation, focussed solely on the unconscious brother.

"WHAT HAPPENED!" he asked very loudly.

Scott ignored his middle brother, shifted Alan into the crooks of his arms and walked straight for the door. A hand caught him on the upper arm and his father's voice sounded out. "Scott, you better tell me what happened. Don't you think there are enough secrets already?" on any other occasion, Scott would've retreated and fallen back at his father's tone of voice but he shrugged off the arm and turned on the spot.

"Or what Dad? What are you going to do? Eh? Expel me from the next mission? Good luck without your field commander by the way, oh and Alan. Because Dad, if you haven't noticed he isn't exactly feeling 100% at the moment. In case it slipped your mind, he is lying unconscious in my arms after a full blown panic attack and I need to get him to the infirmary now. So are you going to stand there and threaten me or are you going to step aside and save your son? Your choice." Scott spat out his words like venom. Hatred filled his eyes and his father was speechless. He dropped his arm and Scott turned again and strode out of the room.

"What the …" Gordon was cut off by a cuff round the head from John. He glared at his older brother and re-phrased his words. "What was that all about?"

No one answered him; they all just filed out of the room and followed the oldest and youngest brother to the infirmary. The journey down the stairs to infirmary doors was painfully silent for the four men. When they got there they could see through the glass doors that Scott had laid Alan down on one of the beds and was trying to coax him back into consciousness. John tried the door and inwardly cursed.

"It's locked. HE LOCKED IT!" He exploded

Scott's head shot up as John spoke and walked over to the door. He made eye contact with his closest sibling and gave him a sarcastic smile before closing the curtains on all of them and heading back to Alan's bedside.

"I am going to kill Scott." John muttered, "Don't care about strength, height or age. He will pay for blocking us out."

"Me too" Said Virgil and Gordon simultaneously.

"Get in line boys, get in line." Jeff said through his teeth.

Back in the infirmary, sat on the side of Alan's bed, Scott smirked at the idea of his brothers attacking him. Let them try, he thought.

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**Hey, just want to say thanks for all the reviews :) This is my first fic so i really appriciate them xx**


	8. Chapter 8: Voices and Headaches

Jeff sighed wearily and leant back in his chair. He was sat in his office alone finishing off paperwork for Tracy Enterprises. Sure, he would love to be with John, Virgil and Gordon who were plotting ways to get to their youngest brother, but Jeff knew that once Scott had his mind set on something, there was no going to change it. Scott was obviously adamant to keep out the rest of the family and as much ad Jeff hated it, there was nothing he could do.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the klaxon. He was in immediate action and ran down the corridors to reach the lab where three of his five sons were standing in front of the desk waiting for him. Jeff walked over to the desk and glanced at the screen, he saw the crisis. A minor earthquake in Turkey had destroyed a couple of buildings in one of the major cities, so far no casualties but authorities could not assess the damage as they were unable to get to the building due to debris in the street. "Okay boys, doesn't look too bad, just a minor earthquake in…" Jeff trailed off as he realised someone he was expecting was missing. "Where on earth is Scott?"

Jeff looked at the guilty expressions on his son's faces. "Dad, he still hasn't left the infirmary. He refuses to." Virgil said look down at his feet. Jeff looked fuming, "Okay boys, fill yourselves in on this information", Jeff pointed at the screen "I will go and get Scott." He said sullenly as he turned on his heel and left the room.

As he strode down the corridors to the infirmary, Jeff thought about Scott's recent behaviour. He was being overly protective of Alan and there had to be a logical reason why. Something had happened on TB 1 on the way back from their last rescue and in Alan's bedroom afterwards. Something that had now resulted in Jeff's youngest son ending up in the infirmary and his oldest refusing to leave his side. He stopped by the glass doors to the infirmary which were still covered by the curtain that Scott had drawn half an hour earlier. "Scott!" he yelled, banging on glass and making it vibrate. As much as Jeff wanted to get to his sons, he had already broken one door that day, and did not want to be fixing another. When no answer came, Jeff yelled again, "Scott! Open this door this instant!". No reply. Jeff shifted his gaze from the glass doors to the edge of the curtain, there was a slight gap where the curtain didn't quite reach the infirmary wall and as Jeff looked through it, he saw the scene inside the room that he had been locked out of.

Scott was sat on Alan's bedside and was holding his left hand and whispering in his ear. How Jeff longed to know what he was saying, but right now that wasn't the problem. "SCOTT! We have a rescue to deal with. You said yourself that I need you as my field commander so get out here and stop acting childish!" Jeff boomed.

At this, Scott looked up and towards the gap in the curtain where he could see his father's burning eyes. "Childish? Me? I'm not the one who goes around banging on doors and knocking them down! I'm not leaving Alan when he needs me! He is more important than International Rescue, and if you can't see that, then maybe that's why he is…." Scott trailed off as he realised that his next few words would break his promise to Alan, "just go, Dad. You're not needed here and by the sounds of how easy this rescue is, I'm not needed in Turkey. I heard your conversation to the others, a minor earthquake, ha, Alan could handle that blindfolded." he joked.

Jeff Tracy was lost for words. "Scott, maybe you're right. Okay, I will go but when I get back, we are going to talk, ALL of us, even Alan. I will break down another hundred doors if I have to," Scott was about to protest but Jeff gave him a hard glare, "No Scott, this has gone on all morning, now enough is enough." And with that Jeff was gone. Scott was left staring at the curtain where his father had just been, wandering about the next few hours to come.

* * *

Two hours later, in Turkey, International Rescue was just finishing clearing of the roads. The buildings had collapsed and had trapped three civilians within their ruins. The local authorities had got to them as soon as IR had given them the all clear after clearing the roads with Firefly. All of the victims were on their way to a local hospital with minor injuries; there had fortunately been no deaths.

"Good work boys, head back to base" Jeff said from Mobile Control through the watches of his sons. Someone had to take over from Alan as his job was vital, TB 1 did not need its pilot after all. Jeff flew the 'bird and had set up the Mobile Control before TB2 arrived with the Firefly. Scott's absence hadn't been as missed as Jeff had thought; the eldest Tracy sibling was still needed to command his brothers from the field but Jeff also took that responsibility.

"FAB Dad, Thunderbirds 2 out" Came Virgil's voice through the speaker.

* * *

Scott slept in the chair next to his brother's infirmary bed, their hands still clasped. Suddenly a quite whimper brought Scott out of his slumber and he stared expectantly at Alan. His brother's blue eyes fluttered open and he shot straight sitting upright in his bed, screaming. "SCOTT!"

"Allie, it's alright I'm here. Calm down. You're in the island infirmary. You had a panic attack and I gave you a sedative so you could catch up on some sleep. You have been out for just over two and a half hours." Scott was now sat on the side of Alan's bed looking at him with concern.

"Okay. I'm fine. Just—Just another stupid dream" Alan stuttered as he began to lie back down again. Scott slipped one arm around Alan's shoulders and guided him back to a propped up position on the back board of the bed. They sat in silence for a few moments before Alan spoke up.

"I want to see them Scotty. All of them, all together." Scott was shocked by this but nonetheless would be glad to get out of this bad situation.

"Okay Alan. Can I just ask why?"

"Well, my dreams are getting worse and I thought, I managed to get you into the dream to help me when I was with you in real life, and I just assumed that I could get the others out of my dreams if I did the same thing. I want to tell them everything so they understand, then you are also less likely to get into trouble." Alan mumbled but the last statement he gave a sheepish grin. "Thanks Scott, for staying with me. It's not that I don't want the others at all, I just need some space, but also reassurance from you. I'm sure Dad and the others will give you a hard time about this but when I explain it to them, I will make sure to mention that this is what I wanted."

Scott was going to embrace his brother for sticking up for him but was stopped but an intruding noise. His watch beeped and he glanced down at it. "Okay Allie" He sighed looking back up to his blond brother, "if that's what you want, it looks as though you will get your chance to talk to them soon. Dad just gave to order over all of the watch coms which includes my one, they are returning to base now. You must have left you watch in your room when I left you to sleep" he said as he looked down at Alan's bare left wrist.

"Okay, I'll be fine Scotty. There just dreams and it's about time I realised that." Said Alan determinedly, noticing his brothers worried expression.

"I will call them now then and we can hold a family meeting in the lounge so everyone is there." Said Scott, shifting his position on the bed for a more comfortable one on the corner. He pressed a button on the side of his watch and his father's face appeared on the screen.

"Scott, what are you doing? What's going on? Is Alan okay?" His father's questions infuriated Scott; didn't he think he could look after Alan on his own?

"Dad, look, Alan is just fine, and in fact he wants to talk to all of you when you get back. So we'll see you in the family lounge at 7:30" Scott said abruptly.

"Wait! He is alright! He is awake? Can I speak to him now?"

"No dad, he wants to speak to all of you all together and explain all of this. See you soon"

"SCOTT!"

"Tracy Island out." Scott said as he cut the connection.

"You know? Dad is going to kill you when they get home Scotty?" Alan said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I can't be doing with him right now, he will have to wait to hear what you have to say just like the others." Scott said standing up and stretching. "C'mon Allie, let's go and meet them down there, they're just over twenty minutes away." Scott helped Alan to his feet. After being asleep for a while under sedatives, Alan was a little shaky but he managed to walk out of the infirmary with Scott's guidance.

As they walked down the corridor to the family lounge, Alan suddenly stopped in his tracks. Scott looked down at his brother. "Alan? Are you okay? Should I carry you the rest of the way until you regain all of your strength?" He was worried for his little brother, Alan looked pale and terrified. Scott wandered if it was the thought of seeing his brothers and father but Alan had been so insistent upon seeing them that that theory didn't make sense. "Allie?"

But Alan couldn't hear his older brother. All he could hear was the voice in his head. "Alan. Hello Alan. We meet again."

"NO! GO AWAY!" Alan yelled clutching his head and cringing.

"Alan! What's wrong? What did I do?" Scott too looked terrified now.

"Alan, you ruined my life… put me in prison…and now I'm going to ruin yours and your family's" said the voice.

"NO! You're just a dream! Get out of my head!" Alan screamed. Scott was now on his knees in front of his younger brother whose eyes were squeezed shut.

"Alan? What is it? Who is in your head?" Scott asked, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders and shaking them.

"Scott! You better have a good explanation for cutting me off like…" Jeff stopped mid-sentence as he turned the corner with the rest of his sons at his heels. "Scott?"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Alan was crying now, tears streaming down his face, Scott was shaking him by his shoulders vigorously and this was the scene that greeted his returning family.

"Alan… I haven't been in your head…but I sense fear and pain...nightmares. You've been having dreams about me haven't you Alan? About my voice. Well, let me tell you that that was all your imagination but I am touched that you thought of me…" laughed the voice.

"You—you mean…" Alan mumbled

"That's right Alan, this is the first time I have contacted you. Your fears are you own doing, but they will make my job so much easier…" said the Hood.

"NO!" Alan yelled and fell to the floor writhing as pain shot through his head. All he could hear was the Hood's voice laughing and tormenting him.

"And now for your family…"

"LEAVE THEM ALONE…AHHH!" More pain surged its way through Alan's mind.

Scott and the rest of his family had been listening to Alan's one-sided conversation but the when he fell to the floor, all tension was forgotten and they all rushed to their baby brother who was sprawling around the floor.

"Alan, Alan! Are you…AHHH" Scott clutched his head as pain shot through it. The rest of his family followed suit as they all felt waves of pain shoot through their minds and they clenched their heads.

Far away, in London prison, The Hood was laughing.

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**So... The Hood wasn't the causing Alan's nightmares. Alan was genuinely having reccuring nightmares. But what happens next now The Hood is involved? Reviews are loved, thanks to all your reviews so far 3 i will update soon xx**


	9. Chapter 9: Is this a dream?

Alan screamed and curled up into a tight ball on his side. He could hear his family around him going through the same pain as him. Was the Hood trying to control their minds like in his dreams? Was this a dream? Why couldn't he wake up? Alan tried desperately to understand what was going on, usually he woke up after a few moments of pain but this was different. If he could wake up from his dream in reality, then maybe going to sleep in his dream could wake him up from this nightmare. Alan opened his eyes with the greatest difficulty and gasped. Scott, his brother who he could trust in both reality and slumber was in pain. He was clutching his head with white knuckles and his eyes were closed tightly, and yet, through his pain, Alan's oldest brother was still trying to make his way over to Alan, to protect him.

Alan's heart swelled with love for his brother, he had to save him from this nightmare as well. He rolled over, groaning and looked at the rest of his surroundings. All of his brothers were also on the floor and his father stood leaning against the wall, fingers on his temples. As he gradually got to his unstable feet, Alan half walked- half fell into the family lounge towards the sofa where he could sleep, once he slept, he would awake in reality, in the infirmary, with Scott. Of that, Alan was certain. However, the second his foot crossed into the lounge, the pain stopped. Alan whirled around to look back out of the room and found his family still in pain.

"What's going on?" He cried. "Leave them alone, get me! Where have you gone?" He stepped out of the room in order to save Scott but the pain came flooding back into his mind. He stumbled backwards into the lounge and fell onto the floor. The pain was gone again. Alan sat up and still saw his family struggling. He cursed under his breath. Part of him wanted to be smug that he had gotten away with swearing but the other part of him knew it was only because the others couldn't hear him due to their own torture.

"It must be this room, what is it though?" he thought aloud. He scanned the lounge, the sofas, the computer, the television, and the pictures in the walls… THE WALLS! They were soundproofed for secret meetings! Could that be it? Could the Hood not penetrate walls? Alan glanced outside the lounge without leaving the room and noticed the patio doors were open. That had to be how The Hood was getting to them. It had to be. If it was, then Alan knew what to do.

"Scott! Scotty! Get in here! It doesn't hurt in here!" He yelled. Then he remembered back to when the pain first started, he couldn't hear his brothers words, so Scott couldn't hear his now. Without a second thought, Alan rushed out of the room towards his oldest brother, the pain came in sudden waves through his head but he didn't care, he had to get to Scott. He grabbed his brother's upper arm and practically dragged him across the corridor to the lounge. There, they both collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

Before Alan could sit up, Scott arms were around him. "Alan, thank you! Are you okay?" Alan embraced the hug and returned it.

"Yeah Scott, I'm fine. Now all we have to do is fall asleep now and we will wake up in reality." He said seriously, but all it got him was a confused look from his brother.

"What on earth are you…" Scott was cut off by Gordon's screams. Scott was instantly up and running out of the room for the rest of his brothers.

"SCOTT! NO! You don't understand!" cried Alan. Why was Scott saving the people who tried to hurt them? He watched as Scott slung Gordon over his shoulder and grabbed Virgil and John's upper arm like Alan had done with him prior. Alan stared in awe at his brother's physical strength to drag two brothers and carry one other whilst going through all that pain. Scott pushed John and Virgil into the lounge and threw Gordon onto the sofa. Then he was out in the corridor again, dragging their father behind him and leading him to the soundproofed room.

They all lay there, gasping. All except Alan who was curled up in the corner, wide-eyed and pale once more. Jeff spoke up first. "Report! Are you all alright?"

A chorus of "yes sir's came from everyone apart from Alan, nobody noticed. "Scott," Jeff continued "How did you know to take us all here?"

"It was Alan, he brought me here first." Scott said honestly. "I have no idea."

Jeff grabbed the phone from the table in the centre of the room and began talking and ordering the person on the end of the line. "I don't care if you say he's in 'maximum _security_', we just had a _security_ breech!" He said in his commander tone, obviously talking to the poor soul on the other end as if he was the Thunderbird leader rather than Jeff Tracy. "Check on him and stop him. Yes. Yes we are fine now. I assume his powers have gotten stronger but cannot penetrate walls. Is there a window in his cell? YES!? Well move him then for goodness sake!" there was a wait before Jeff gave a brief 'goodbye' and hung up. There was no thank you as he was shocked at the prison's incompetence.

Jeff turned back to his sons. "Basically the Hood has been working on his skills, he somehow got an enhancer in the form of a herb into his food. The prison suggested it was foul play and that they had a traitor in their system but we're letting them handle that. From his cell, it seems the Hood was able to focus his skills out of the window but not thorough any walls. They were strong enough to cross oceans but not through obstacle from such a distance" Jeff smirked at the irony. "Okay, the Hood can't hurt anyone anymore it seems. Alan?"

They all turned at Jeff's worried expression to look at the youngest Tracy. Alan was still in the corner of the room, having not heard about the explanation of the attack and simply concentrating on the fact that he was surrounded and his father wouldn't stop speaking about the Hood. Were they going to hand him over to him? John scooted over towards Alan's corner and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Allie. It's okay, he's gone now. What's wrong?" He asked, sharing the worried look that his father had. Alan immediately threw off his brother's comforting hand and stood up back against the wall. "Woah! Alan. Seriously man, what is going on?" Said John, also standing. Bad idea.

Little did he know, John had trapped Alan by standing up, he was cornered. John stood so much taller than the fifteen year old and Alan didn't know what to do as he was pressed into the corner. What could he do? They were trying to hurt him again! So he did what he did in his dreams. Was this a dream? He ran.

He shoved John so hard that he fell backwards, earning Alan a short period of time before he stood back up again to run. He jumped over Virgil's body, still recovering on the floor, passed his father who reached out a hand to grab him but missed, passed the sofa that held Gordon and through the door. Luckily for Alan, Scott had been in the opposite corner so did not need to pass him in order to escape; otherwise, he would not have had as much luck. Alan may have been in the school running team and could outrun his other brothers, but Scott was faster and the fact that he was not close, gave Alan an advantage head start.

It was just like his dream. He could hear footsteps behind him as he ran out of the villa, down the terrace steps, past the pool, onto the beach and into the depths of the jungle. He did not stop. He did not dare to look behind him. He just ran. Just like in his dreams. And then, just like in his dreams, he fell. And fell. And fell.

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**Sorry the Hood's explanation was so bad but that's not what this story concentrates on. Reviews are loved :)**


	10. Chapter 10: You Don't Understand!

And fell… It was exactly like his dreams. Alan had run from his brothers who he thought were trying to hurt him. The youngest Tracy had then ironically fallen in the same spot in the jungle as he had in his dreams and had landed in the same position by the stream. He groaned as he rolled over onto his back and just like in his dreams, he froze.

Every one of his brothers was making their way towards their youngest brother, they all wore the same concerned expression but all Alan saw was their approaching figures. Gordon was the closest and the first one to speak "Alan. My word, you really know how to scare a guy." He said as he dropped to his knees beside his brother. Virgil was next and practically shoved Gordon out of the way so he could assess Alan's medical state.

"Alan. I don't know what all of that was supposed to be about, but congratulations; you successfully managed to sprain your ankle pretty badly." Virgil said with a sarcastic tone of voice. He attempted to touch Alan's ankle in order is examine the damage further but Alan flinched and the next thing Vigil knew, he was lying in his back after having the air knocked out of his chest. Alan had kicked him in the struggle to get away and was now paler than ever. Virgil snapped his head up, "WHAT WAS THAT ALAN?!" he sprung to his feet and was about to question his youngest brother further when Scott and John appeared by his side and Scott rested a hand on Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil took this opportunity to tell his older siblings what Alan had done. "Guys! Did you see that, that little brat kicked me in the stomach and…"

"Cut it out Virg!" Snapped Scott, ripping his hand off of Virgil's shoulder, "can't you see you scared him enough already without shouting at the top of your voice and trying to make the situation worse?" Virgil sunk back at Scott's words.

"Scott, Alan just kicked Virgil AND pushed me over back there, and your more worried about him and how scared he is! Who are you and what have you done with the Scott Tracy we know?" John said with a look of shock at Scott's words .

At this point, Scott glared at John causing him to shrink back with Virgil. "None of you understand so just drop it! None of you know what he's been through so stop blaming him! None of you can even begin imagine how terrifying this situation is for him so quit shouting! And none of you know how angry you're making me so for goodness sake BACK OFF!" Scott spat at his brothers and turned his attention to his youngest who was still by the stream, pale and quivering. John, Virgil and Gordon were stunned to say the least. Scott had a temper, they all knew, he was protective, they had all been through it but he rarely exploded like that. Scott bent down to Alan's level and stroked the hair out of the blonde's eyes.

"Allie, I can never appreciate how scary this is for you right now because I know very well that this is the place that you described to me from your dreams. I do know however that having those brothers here is not helping this moment at all," Scott said as he glanced over his shoulder at the three guilty looking men, "And I also know that staying here in your state, with that ankle is not going to help anyone so we need to get you to the infirmary, okay?"

Alan did not answer, he just simply stared, wide-eyed at Scott. "Alan! Come on! Do you trust me?" Scott said, breaking Alan's trance. Alan nodded and mumbled some sort of a "yes". "Well then, will you let me take you back?" Alan nodded again and at that gesture, Scott lifted his youngest sibling off of the jungle floor.

Alan was shifted into the crooks of Scott's arms and he rested his head against his brother's chest. He did not dare look at the other brothers because he knew they would not hurt him now Scott was there and protecting him.

His older brother was wary of Alan's injured ankle and carried him away from his nightmare scene, towards the villa where little did he know, more nightmares would follow.

* * *

Alan soon found himself trying to hold in his tears whilst in Scott's arms as the pain from his injured ankle throbbed mercilessly. Every step his brother took jarred it and he let out a hiss of pain which would get him only a worried look from Scott and no cease to the movement. Scott was adamant to get his youngest sibling to the infirmary as quickly as possible, despite the discomfort that he was going through.

Behind them, Scott could hear his other brothers mumbling and whispering; oh how he would have loved to turn around and demand to know what they were taking about but he was ninety per cent sure he knew it was about either him or Alan. And there were more important matters at hand than their opinions. He had to get Alan somewhere safe and somehow show him that the rest of the family were no threat. He knew that that incident with the Hood earlier had mixed up Alan's ability to tell the difference between reality and his dreams as the Hood had featured in his nightmares.

Sighing, Scott made his way up the villa steps, wincing at every painful noise that the brother in his arms made; he hated having brothers in agony. He so wanted to stop and comfort Alan but he knew too well that the pain would just simply start up again unless the injured ankle was bandaged up. He also knew that if he did stop, the rest of the family would be there as well, and Alan wasn't ready for that. Sighing again, Scott walked down towards the corridor that led to the infirmary. He knew what he had to do, and the others would hate it!

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**Scott to the rescue! Now the other's know there's something seriously wrong... next update will be soon. What will Scott do next? xx**


	11. Chapter 11: Bandages and Black Eyes

Alan was sure he was going to pass out from the pain in his ankle, not to mention the other problems he was experiencing. He was now crying, sweating and shaking like there was no tomorrow. He was all in all, a total wreck. Scott placed his youngest brother onto the same infirmary bed he had been in before, then walked back over to the double glass doors, locked them and closed the curtains. Alan looked up with watery eyes as his eldest brother perched on the corner of his bed.

"Sc-Scotty. W-what's going on? Why are we here? We need to wake up again!" Alan said, getting more and more upset. He attempted to sit up but strong arms held him down. He began to struggle and thrash around under the sheets, trying to push the arms away but they were like stone. Scott's words travelled through Alan's confusion and he instantly relaxed and sighed.

"Alan. Stop it! C'mon Allie. Stay still. Talk to me. Calm down." Scott had a look of immense concern on his face

"Scott! Don't you understand, I am dreaming! We are dreaming! They were trying to hurt me again and I need to wake up! WE need to wake up!" Alan tried to remain calm like Scott had said but he was finding it impossible.

"Alan, listen to me very carefully" Scott said firmly, putting a hand under Alan's chin and turning his face to face his own. "We are not dreaming. This is reality. You woke up, wanted to see the others and we went down to the family lounge. Remember?"

Alan nodded. "But then the Hood actually did hurt you. He hurt all of us but he has been moved to a windowless room in the prison and so he can't hurt anyone ever again. I can understand if you are confused now Alan because the Hood was in your dreams as well as in reality. But you and I are not dreaming and our family is not trying to hurt you! Now I need you to repeat after me, who are John, Virgil, Gordon and I to you?"

"My-my brothers, of course, I don't understand how-"

"Just answer the questions Alan. Please? Okay next, what do brothers do for each other?"

"Pro-protect each other? Scott, I-"

"Yes. So what are John, Virgil, Gordon and I going to do to you?"

"Protect me?"

"Exactly!" Scott said with a relived sigh. "And what is Jeff Tracy to you?"

"My dad. But-"

"And what do dads do to their children?"

"Protect them… as well as brothers I guess."

"Precisely!" Scott said with another sigh of relief then fixed his eyes on his brother's, "So none of us are going to hurt you." He said firmly.

Alan stared at his brother, letting the stern words sink in. His eyes widened as he realized Scott was telling the truth. "Oh my goodness. What have I done!" Alan shouted and tried to get out of bed again, "I've got to say sorry! I've got to explain!"

Scott was unprepared this time and let Alan slip through his arms. Alan tried to pad across the room towards the doors but fell and collapsed onto the cold floor with a yell of pain. Scott was instantly next to him, lifting him of the floor and re-placing him on the bed. "Don't do that again Alan! You have badly sprained your ankle and it has yet to be bandaged up. Stay here. I'm going to go and get Virg so he can do it because he's the medic. Okay? Are you okay with seeing him?"

"Yes, okay." Alan nodded through his tears as he was clutching his ankle.

"And are you okay if I explain things to them, I think they deserve to know?" Alan simply nodded this time.

Scott now made his way across the room to the glass doors and pulled open the curtains. The faces that greeted him were not pleased. If looks could kill, Scott would have been dead on the infirmary floor and there would have been four murderers in the family. John looked slightly shocked that the curtains had opened, Virgil looked at Scoot for a second then beyond him towards the bed that held Alan and Gordon looked fuming, fists clenched and all. Jeff looked disappointed but Scott wasn't sure if it was at himself because Alan hadn't gone to him or at Scott for keeping it a secret.

Scott unlocked the doors and pushed them open. He took a deep breath and spoke quickly and efficiently. "Before any of you shout at me, remember Alan is in there. Before any of you shove passed to go in there, remember Alan is terrified of you for a reason and I am about to tell you why."

"IT'S ABOUT TIME SCOTT!" Gordon yelled.

"You've been keeping it from us for too long and you shouldn't have at all!" John sounded furious.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this!" Virgil crossed his arms, looking expectantly at Scott.

"Will you let me talk or would you just like to continue to express how YOU feel? How do you think I feel? Eh? I've been keeping this to myself for Alan's sake and to keep a promise I made to Alan, not for my own use, not to annoy you. I did all of this for Alan because he is scared, terrified and exhausted and he wasn't ready for interrogations or overcrowding." Scott yelled back.

"Okay Scott. Get on with it and watch your tone with your brothers. They have every right to be angry." said Jeff sternly, "true, you made a promise to Alan to keep it to yourself but that does not explain why you have kept HIM to yourself."

Scott sighed, 'Here goes nothing!' he thought. "Alan has been having recurring nightmares. You know like we do after certain rescues where we wish things could have gone differently. Well, Alan's nightmares are about the Hood's attack. But not the Hood himself, just his voice in Alan's head, telling him things that he doesn't want to hear. Things like, for example, that we don't love him and that we all blame him for mum's death." Scott stopped talking for a moment to hear all of the gasps that followed.  
"But why-" Virgil  
"I don't know why Virg, but I'm getting to the most important bit if you wouldn't mind stop asking questions until the end." Scott interrupted, clearly annoyed.  
"Scott." Jeff said sternly, "tone."  
"Yeah, I know." Scott dismissed his father's warning with a flick of a hand and continued, much to Jeff's disapproval. "Anyway, in his dreams Alan is running into the jungle away from something. Somethings. You guys. You are the ones he runs from and when he falls down, you hurt him." Scott looked sullen, but not as bad as the shocked and painful faces that his brothers and father held.  
"So, do you see now why he was so scared of you? Do you see that that was why he has been so pale and shaky? And let me say now, I'm sorry for lying to you all." Scott said, closing his eyes and holding the bridge of his nose.  
" What are you taking about Scott?" John asked, changing his shocked expression to a more confused one.  
"Alan didn't miss-hear dad's order, he was too afraid to go back from the rescue with all of the brothers that were in his dreams. He didn't fall asleep in the storage cupboard, he hid and cried. Why in TB1 and not just hide in TB2 you ask? Because he feels safe around me as I was not in his dreams apart from later on to help him. He told me not to tell you any of this because he thought you'd get angry. I'm only telling you now because he changed his mind"  
All of the brothers spoke at once, a mixture of anger, confusion and despair in their voices.

"ENOUGH!" Jeff roared over the voices and they instantly stopped. Jeff turned to Scott, and in a normal, calm voice said "We understand why you did what you did Scott, but why did Alan run away earlier and not to you then?"  
Scott sighed again, "He is confused, since the Hood's attack earlier today, about what is his dreams and what is reality because the Hood wasn't just giving Alan pain earlier, he was taking to him like in his nightmares. Alan knows he can trust me in reality and slumber but was so scared he ran. And then you'll never guess where he landed. That stream, that slope where we found him, that's where he fell in his dreams. And then you were there and it all got too much for him. I only just managed to persuade him that this is reality and that no-one is going to hurt him. He wants to see you all, to apologies, but only Virgil is going in there with me to begin with, to introduce Alan gradually to all of you and so Virg can apply a bandage on Alan's ankle that he injured when he fell."

Scott grasped Virgil's upper arm and led him through the double glass doors, turning his back to John, Gordon and their dad. He stopped before the doors swung closed and said, "I'm not going to lock the door this time but if you value your relationship with Alan, you will not follow us". As the doors closed and the curtains were drawn, Jeff and his two remaining sons were left stood in awe at Scott's words and Alan's feelings.  
"Well" Gordon began, slightly more cheerful than he should have been. "That explains a lot." That remark only got him a warning glare from his father and his second oldest brother.

Back in the infirmary, Scott led Virgil over to Alan's bedside and explained that his right ankle was sprained. Whilst Scott had been outside the room, Alan had drifted in and out of sleep but was never comfortable enough to rest without Scott's presence. He watched as Virgil revealed a bandage and started to wrap up his ankle. Scott saw how exhausted Alan looked. "Alan, it's just Virgil. He's just going to bandage up your bad ankle okay? You can rest, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. "  
Nodding, Alan closed his eyes and drifted fully into slumber. But Scott's reassurance was worth nothing as from the moment Alan was at peace, he was running out of the villa, into the jungle once more.

"SCOTT!" Alan's eyes flew open and he tried to sit up but he couldn't. Something or someone was holding him down. Alan thrashed and kicked out. Something was holding his wrists tightly and all he could hear was shouting and yelling. Alan screamed and yanked his arms away, fists clenched. His left first came into contact with something and another yell echoed around the room. Alan finally sat up and opened his eyes for the first time since his nightmare. Two figures were looming over him; he couldn't see their faces but jumped out of his bed before they could hurt him again. He rushed across the room into the bathroom with great pain from his ankle but made it. The figures were fighting and coming after him. Alan slammed and locked the bathroom door before they could descend on him and sank heavily to the floor, shaking one more.

* * *

Jeff, John and Gordon, still waiting outside the infirmary had had enough of standing by. They ran through the double doors into the infirmary after hearing shouting. They arrived just in in time to see Alan slamming the toilet door and locking it and to see Scott pinning Virgil's arms behind his back and pressing him up against the wall. Scott's angry, red face was shouting at Virgil and the eldest Tracy sibling was also sporting a black eye.

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**What do you think happened? reviews are loved :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Raised Voices

Jeff instantly paced over to the struggling Virgil and fuming Scott. "ENOUGH! Scott! Release your brother!" Scott just tightened his grip on Virgil's wrists and pushed him harder against the wall. "SCOTT! DO IT NOW!" Jeff shouted.

Scott gave Virgil one last shove and let go of his wrists that he was holding behind his brother's back. John went to Scott's side and held his upper arm, as if to prevent him from going for Virgil again. Scott glanced at John with a smirk and said "Do you really think that's going to work Johnny-boy?" John dropped his arm and ignored Scott's triumphant snicker.

"What is this about!" demanded Jeff, looking from Scott to Virgil who had turned around and was now rubbing his wrists.

"You don't know your own strength Scott." He mumbled, Scott glared at Virgil.

"Oh, believe me Virg. I do."

"Enough boys. Cut it out. What happened Scott?" Jeff asked sternly, turning to face his eldest. "Well?"

"Virgil being the brilliant mind that he is, decided it was a good idea to hold Alan down and restrain him when he awoke from his sleep after having a nightmare instead of letting me get to him to comfort him. My reassurance could have stopped his from re-losing his trust in all of you. I could have stopped all of this!" Scott motioned to his black eye and pointed to the wall where he had held Virgil.

"Scott. What about your eye? Did Virgil do that?" Gordon asked sincerely.

"NO!" Virgil yelled, offended by that accusation.

"No" Scott sighed, "Alan did it ACCIDENTLY when he struggled in Virg's grip. Right in the eye! He was so scared that he made a bee-line for the bathroom and locked himself in there."

"So, instead of going after Alan, you attacked Virgil. How does pinning him up against the wall help?" John asked, trying to wind up Scott. But Scott's answer shocked him.

"It made me feel better." He said with another smirk and a snicker.

"Scott, that's not how we deal with things like this. What Virgil did was obviously wrong but he didn't know how to react. No doubt he thought Alan was going to run again." Jeff said, glancing at Virgil who nodded in agreement.

"He still deserved it" Scott mumbled under his breathe, just so only his brothers could hear it clearly.

"Sorry Scott?" Asked Jeff, eyebrows raised.

"Nothing. Nothing." Scott said, mirroring his father's raised eyebrows in an innocent manner. "I need to get Alan out of there though." He said, turning and walking towards the closed bathroom door.

"Scott, we all need to see him and reassure him this time, to make sure that nothing like this happens again" Jeff said, following Scott with John, Virgil and Gordon behind.

"No dad. Right now, he won't trust anyone after a nightmare. Only me. He will trust you in time but now, he needs me and no one else." Scott said as he spun on his heel, his back to the bathroom door, facing his father.

"Scott, what Alan needs is-" Jeff began.

"What Alan needs is time! He will come around just like he did with Virgil before the nightmare!" Scott interrupted, his voice getting louder. He rarely had loud arguments with his father, that was more Alan's thing, but when they did quarrel, they were legendary.

"Don't interrupt me Scott!" Jeff said sternly, his voice also becoming louder. "Listen, we don't have time! We run International Recue for goodness sake. We cannot put the world on hold!"

"But-"

"No 'but's Scott, Alan needs to face his fears sooner rather than later and International Rescue cannot wait for-"

"DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF?!" Scott finally yelled, "International Rescue cannot wait for your own son! What are you talking about! Of course it can! Alan is far more important to this family than the uniforms we wear or the machines we fly! If you can't see that then that is why you are losing him!"

"I am not losing Alan! He is scared because of some dreams that he keeps having and-"

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Scott shouted again, "There is a reason Alan is scared of all of you! A reason for why you are the ones hurting him in his dreams and not me or his friends! Think about it and stop jumping to conclusions that these are 'some dreams'!"

"Don't mock me Scott Tracy! What are you talking about?" Jeff shouted back.

"Gordon and Virgil, you are in his dreams because you tease him in reality and he is intimidated by you when you make him feel small." Scott said, taking a deep breath and calming down a bit. "John, Alan loves you and looks up to you but he hardly knows how you are going to react to things as he hardly sees you. You are always up on Five so he imagines the worst of what you could possibly be in his nightmares. He imagines you angry and terrifying which we all know is not true… well, sometimes." Scott gave a slight smirk and took another deep breath. "Dad. Everyone in this family knows you have a temper, and so does Alan. You clash horribly when arguing and I know from heated conversations with Alan that he doesn't think you listen to him enough and he even said once that he thought you cared more out IR than him. He is scared to tell you somethings as he doesn't want you to get angry. That's how he pictures you in the nightmares. Angry. John you are one of the ones who hurts Alan, as is Gordon and Dad but Virgil stands by and watches, does nothing but laugh." Alan had told Scott all of this in his bedroom after the first rescue. Scott had been shocked that Alan had told him but not surprised at the words.

Jeff looked taken aback. Gordon looked terrified. John looked hurt and Virgil looked guilty. Scott stood in front of them all and said, "Well, there you have it. Now if you don't mind, Alan needs me and he also needs TIME whether International Rescue can spare it or not." Scott turned away from the faces and knocked on the door.

"Alan, it's me Sprout. Can I come in? Just to talk to you?" Scott asked calmly into the door, loud enough for Alan to hear but quite enough so his brother's and father behind him would have to be completely silent to hear.

"I-I don't know Scott." Came a mumble from the other side of the door.

"Alan. Virgil made a stupid, stupid mistake. No one is going to hurt you, especially me. Now can I please come in?"

"My-my ankle hurts Scott. I ran on it to get away from you two after I hurt you. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I didn't know it was you!" Scott could hear Alan trying to hold back his tears, trying to remain strong even then.

"It's okay Alan. It was an accident. No one blames you. I can give you a painkiller if you open the door Alan. Its only me." Scott glared over his shoulder as he said "It's only going to be me coming in." Jeff opened his mouth to protest but closed it again when he heard the unlocking sound of the bathroom door. Scott ran to a cupboard on his left and grabbed two white tablets. When the door opened, Alan was stood with his right ankle bandaged, tears running down his face and one hand on the door handle. Scot rested his hands in Alan's shoulders as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

The sound of the door locking again brought Jeff to his senses. He was just about to shout after his eldest son when swearing was heard from inside the bathroom, followed by a smashing sound. "Scott!" Jeff found his voice, "There is no need to lock it! Scott! What's going on?"

"Shut it dad. Do you want this relationship or not?" Scott shouted back. "No! Alan!" He knew he was in for it later but all Scott cared about right at that moment was stopping Alan from jumping out of the bathroom window.

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**Cliff hanger... sorry 'bout that :)**

**There's something i want to tellt though. Today was a good day. We had an English exam - :'( - but the last question was on heros and role models. We had to argue our point across using a quote like "people who saves lives are the true role models of today".**

**I found it really difficult not to write about the Thunderbirds but after i thought i'd finished i had 20 mins left. I had written pages on why i thought war heros should have more publicity than singers or athlete and i thought "why not?".**

**All i was going to write was hoe Gerry Anderson created his character as role models for the younger generations and how i thought people should be ****_inspired _****and ****_aspire_**** to be like them... i ended up writing like, 1 and a half pages.**

**I was so happy. i didn't mention the Thunderbirds specifically but i talked about Anderson's work and how it should be remembered today and how he set role models. I told my friend and she looked at me like i was crazy that i'd written that much. **

**I am possibly the only TB fan in my area but i dont care :) all i can say now is that my teacher better give me a good mark as i poured my heart and soul into at leat ****_one _****of the questions!**

**next update will be soon xx**


	13. Chapter 13: Always

"Shut it dad. Do you want this relationship or not?" Scott shouted back.

The question Scott had shot at Jeff had shocked all of the remaining family who were locked out of the bathroom but they had no time to dwell on that as Scott's next yell was directed towards their youngest family member. "No! Alan!"

"Scott! What's going on in there?" John demanded. "C'mon bro, we all deserve to know!"

"Back off John! All of you shut up and let me deal with this!" Scott yelled back. Then all of them heard it, the softest whisper Scott could ever give to a brother in need. "Allie. Please get off the window ledge. We can talk about this. Please?"

"WHAT!" Jeff erupted next to John, startling both him and his two other brothers.

"Alan is on the window ledge?" Gordon asked in disbelief, eyes wide with fear and confusion. "Why?"

"WHY DO YOU THINK?" Scott yelled back. "He's scared!"

"But he just let you in! You just said he trusted you!" Virgil shouted

"He does trust me! As soon as I entered he ran to the other side of the room and smashed the window! I don't know what's wrong with him! But if you all stop talking to me, maybe I can find out!" Scott said firmly, obviously annoyed at the constant interruptions. This silenced his family who were outside the bathroom door. Back inside the bathroom however, Scott watched in horror as Alan shifted his footing which was on the window ledge.

"Alan! Please! Get down! You just said your ankle hurts so I came in with painkillers, why are you up there? Please come down Alan for goodness sake!" Scott was getting stressed. It was a six foot drop and Alan could easily injure himself once more. The young blonde in question was perched in a squat position on the window ledge, facing sideways. To his right was the wide beach and jungle edge and to his left, the bathroom where Scott stood helplessly.

"Scott, I can't. I can't do it. I can't see them; I don't want to see the disappointment in their eyes. I need to get out of here!" Alan's voice got louder and louder and was beginning to sound more desperate. "Please understand Scott!"

Scott, standing in the middle of the bathroom, looked at the hurt in the blonde's eyes. He could see definite fear but determination nonetheless. "Alan, if you go out that window, what good would it do?" he asked quietly, slowly, unnoticeably, shuffling towards the window.

"I don't know Scott. I just can't be here. Please understand that I can't see them. I'm so scared and I need time. But I heard Dad, he does have the time." Alan said with tears in his eyes once more. Then the determined look took over his face and he screamed so all could hear "WHY WON'T HE GIVE ME HIS TIME?"

At this point Scott ran the rest of the way across the bathroom, just as Alan's legs tensed to jump. Scott grabbed Alan's upper left arm with his left hand and slid his right arm around Alan's lower back to grab his right side waist. Alan struggled in Scott's grip but Scott simply lifted the 15 year old off of the window ledge and placed him on the floor in a heap. Scott stood between Alan and the smashed window, hands-on-hips, glaring down at his younger brother.

"I can't believe you would actually do that!" Scott sounded hurt and he looked and the floor shaking his head, "Alan, I can't understand this, I know you need time to recover but…" He trailed off.

Alan stood up, wet faced with tears and not putting full weight on his left injured ankle. "Sc-Scott. I'm sorry. I thought… I need… Help me?" Alan stumbled over his words as he looked up at his eldest brother. Scott lifted his head and gave Alan a small, reassuring smile.

"Always."

Alan tried to walk towards Scott but winced and fell from the throbbing of his ankle. Scott caught him before his head could make contact with the tiled floor. He laid Alan down and sat on the floor next to him, resting his brother's head against his chest as Alan cried into it. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" was all Scott could hear Alan mumble through his sobs. Scott could have stayed there as long as it took to calm Alan down, but suddenly the banging on the door and the shouting from inside the infirmary started up again. Obviously the silence from the bathroom had worried those outside.

"Scott! What's happened? Let us in!" Jeff yelled, though Scott could hear the concern in his voice.

"Is Alan alright? Is he hurt? Scott!" Virgil shouted after Jeff.

Scott remained silent though, stroking and soothing Alan as his sobs began to cease. He was thinking deeply. He need to get away with Alan, somewhere safe and quite with no interruptions so Alan can recover without anyone else contributing to his nightmares. If no one was around to dream horrible things about, then surely the nightmares would stop. He came to his conclusion as he looked at the smashed window where Alan was previously perched. "Dad is going to kill me, and the others will probably join in or grab front row seats." Scott mumbled as he shifted uncomfortably on the floor.

"Alan. I have an idea to get away but we have no supplies, so we can't. If we let them in now then later on I can find you and we-" Scott was cut off explaining his plan by Alan's dangerous smile. It was the type of smile that Gordon and Alan used whenever they were about to pull a prank, a smile that the whole family feared from the 'Terrible Two'.

"What is it? What did you do?"

"We will have supplies if we go now." Alan said, his smile remaining. Scott looked stunned.

"What? What do you mean? Where? How?" Scott could not understand this, how would they have supplies if they escaped now? The rest of the family would be looking for them and the only place Scott could think of going in order to give Alan time to recover was the jungle. They could hide in there for days if they do it right, but they would need sleeping equipment and food.

"I will explain later but can we please just go?" Alan looked pleadingly into Scott's eyes, his smile fading as he heard more shouting from outside the door.

"Okay, okay" Scott agreed with a sigh. He stood up and helped Alan to his feet and then they made their way over to the window.

"You first. Once you've landed on the other side, wait for me at the entrance to the jungle. Under no circumstances are you to go off one your own, do you hear me?" Scott asked firmly. Alan nodded and with Scott's help, clambered back up onto the ledge. The banging and shouting from the other side of the door grew louder made Alan shudder, and Scott noticed.

"Just go, I'll be right behind you." Scott said reassuringly. Once Alan was out of the window and out of Scott's view, the eldest Tracy sibling climbed onto the window ledge and straddled it, his right leg was dangling 6 feet above the ground outside and his left foot was touching the bathroom floor. All of a sudden, the bathroom door swung open and Jeff, John, Virgil and Gordon were stood there, watching him escape.

"SCOTT! WHAT THE H-" Gordon was cut off by a glare from Virgil who snapped his head back to look at Scott. John moved forward, towards Scott but before he could get to him, Scott gave him a quick smirk and was gone.

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**Hope you enjoyed :) Reviews are loved**


	14. Chapter 14: Tracy Thought Processes

Alan jumped out of the window and landed awkwardly on the ground below that sloped steeply downwards and then flattened out at the edge of the jungle. He winced as his injured ankle gave way and he tumbled down the slope, rolling over and over; his world spinning for a few seconds. Once he steadied himself, he scrambled to his feet, a little too quickly. Alan ankle throbbed and he found himself on the grass at the bottom of the slope once more. This time, he got to his feet more cautiously, making sure that most of his weight was on his one good leg. He hoped so hard that Scott had not seen him fall down the slope and then not being able to get up! Alan turned around to see Scott perched on the window ledge at the top of the slope, where Alan had previously been. He saw Scott smirk and then turn to jump out of the window, landing perfectly on the top of the slope with flawless balance. At this point, Alan faced the jungle and tried his best to run to its edge, his attempt made him wince again and it ended up as a hobble. Suddenly, he found an arm snaking around his chest and another under his knees and he was forcefully lifted, mid-limping, off of the ground. Alan was slung over someone's shoulder, his head resting against their back. He wished as hard as he could that his carrier was his eldest brother.

* * *

Jeff watched in horror as his eldest son jumped from the window ledge. It was a six foot drop to the top of the slope below, he had no doubt that Scott would land perfectly, his years as a Thunderbird coming in handy. But Alan, Alan had had next to no experience in such things and was already injured badly. Despite his anger towards both his youngest and oldest sons, Jeff wished as hard as he could that they would both be okay. Up until the point where their brothers and he found them.

* * *

John watched in awe as his only elder brother gave him one of his famous smirks and jumped. John immediately raced to the window, careful of the broken glass surrounding it. He saw Scott land perfectly, knees bent with arms outstretched. John would have sighed in relief at the fact that Scott was okay, but his eyes caught another figure, that of his youngest brother. Alan was sprawled out on the floor, looking back as Scott had jumped. The youngest blonde then attempted to stand and run to the jungle, but he ended up limping due to his injured ankle. John saw Scott's eyes widen and guessed that he too had seen Alan struggle to get up off the floor. Scott ran down the slope, slowing his speed as he reached the bottom and scooped Alan up and over his shoulder. Gordon and Virgil were then next to John at the window, watching as their oldest and youngest brothers disappeared into the jungle. John thought he heard Gordon whistle in amazement at Scott's actions but did not dwell on it as their father spoke next. "Go after them. Bring them home but be weary of Alan's condition." And with that, Jeff walked out of the bathroom, out of the infirmary and down the corridor.

* * *

Gordon and his two remaining brothers jumped out of the window soon after exchanging meaningful glances about their father's order. They all made the jump, not as perfectly as Scott, and made their way down the slope into the jungle. Gordon's mind was racing. Did Alan really hate him? Was Scott being too overprotective or was it really that necessary? But most importantly of all, why did they run for the jungle now? Why not later when they had supplies? It was this thought that gave Gordon the adrenaline to run as fast as he did. If they did not find their two fugitive brothers, then not only would he have an angry father and remaining brothers, but Scott and Alan would not survive long enough for them to find them!

* * *

Virgil ran through the undergrowth, his mind on concentrating somehow on that smirk Scott had given John before he had jumped. The scene kept on replaying in his head like he was missing something. A hidden message behind that expression. Virgil was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not see the log and he soon found himself on the jungle floor looking up at John and Gordon after tripping over it. Gordon just laughed at Virgil's misfortune but John held out a hand to help him up. Virgil gratefully took it and heaved himself up. Gordon continued to laugh as Virgil dusted himself down.

The middle Tracy man had not only lost his train of thought, but now he was a joke for his younger brother. Virgil launched himself at Gordon, knocking him off balance and sending them both down the jungle floor. Gordon struggled in Virgil's grip as he rolled around, trying to free himself. Virgil's face was red and up close to Gordon, enough to intimidate. "We have two brothers missing Gordon!" he said through gritted teeth, "So I'm not in the mood for your s-" Virgil was cut off from swearing as strong arms locked around his torso as pulled him off of the floor, and thus, off of Gordon. John threw Virgil behind him and grabbed Gordon off of the floor by his shoulders. "Guys! Stop it! There is no need! We need to concentrate on finding Scott and Alan, not fighting! Gordon, shut up. The next time you laugh, it won't be just Virgil you need to fend off." John said, glaring at his only red-headed brother. "Virgil," he turned to face the still red medic, "I know he's annoying, I know you are stressed and worried about the others but can we please just drop it for now and continue to search for them?" Both Virgil and Gordon nodded, eyes still locked and narrowed. John sighed triumphantly, grasped Gordon upper arm and lead the way through the undergrowth once more. Virgil followed closely and just noticed Gordon's smug expression before he was turned away by John. Then it hit Virgil, that smirk from Scott. It was smugness, showing off. That only meant one thing. Scott had a plan.

* * *

Scott jogged through the jungle, passing trees and streams. He was careful of Alan's injured ankle so made sure he held his other one to steady the swaying body on his shoulder. If he could get somewhere safe, he could put Alan down and make him show them the way to his 'secret stash of supplies'. Scott suddenly stopped as he heard laughter close by. He dove into the undergrowth with Alan still on his right shoulder and looked back from where he had just run. Sure enough, Gordon was standing over Virgil who lay on the floor. Scott watched as John helped him up and Virgil attacked Gordon. Scott tensed as they made contact and both fell to the floor struggling. He would have usually have been the one to break them apart but Scott watched John act before he could leap out of his hiding place. John heaved Virgil off of Gordon and yanked Gordon off of the ground by his shoulders. Scott could hear shouting but could not make out any words apart from his own name. He guessed their father had sent them to bring Alan and him back home. But that wasn't going to happen. Not today. Not until Alan had recovered and the others understood. Not until his plan had succeeded.

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**I know it's short but I felt it was needed :) Reviews are loved and i promise the next few chapters ****_should_**** be longer xx**


	15. Chapter 15: Hollow and a Brotherly Brawl

They was at the side of yet another slope, covered in leaves and vines. Alan had lead them hear after Scott had continued to run from their brothers. He was allowed to walk on his own but with Scott's support.

"Alan. Why are we here? What is place?" Scott asked, looking down on the 15 year old.

Alan looked up at his eldest brother and simply smiled, stepped forward and pulled back the vines. Scott gasped. Alan chuckled and attempted to step inside the hollow but Scott put a hand on his chest to stop him, causing Alan to look back up at him.

"Seriously, Alan. How and when did you find this place? And where on earth did you get all those supplies?!" Scott's questions were a mix of utter shock and firmness. The hollow was inconspicuous due to the vines but went deep into the slope, practically underground. One of the corners was piled high with backpacks, blankets and sleeping bags.

"Scott. You know when I ran away when I was six?" Alan asked, his eyes never leaving Scott's. His older brother nodded. How could he forget? Alan went missing for 3 days in the jungle. Scott had only found him because he had snuck back into the house because he had forgotten one of his toys. "Well, this is where I came. I found this place when I was running and hiding. First of all I just had a backpack and one sleeping bag in here with enough supplies to last one person a few days. Over the years I have been building it up, adding to it for when I might need it again." Alan looked down at the ground now, "I took old camping stuff from the garden shed and, well, here it is. We never go anymore so nobody noticed."

Scott looked shocked. How could they not have noticed? Half the shed was in the hollow! He lowered his hand and placed it on Alan's shoulder blade. "C'mon, show me what you have." He said with a smile as he guided Alan inside the hollow. Obviously they had to duck, Scott especially, but it was cosy, big enough for them both with extra room to spare. They sat down against the back wall and Alan was about to show Scott the first backpack when a loud siren echoed through the jungle. The klaxon.

* * *

John never once dropped his hand from Gordon's upper arm. He did not trust the redhead to not wind up Virgil once more. He knew too well that Virgil was smirking behind Gordon's back and the second youngest Tracy tensed with anger every time he heard it. One final snicker from the medic set Gordon off. He wrenched John's arm off of his arm and turned on the spot to face a surprised Virgil. "GO ON! Snicker again! I dare you!" he yelled.

"Oh no, Gordon. Why would I do that?" Virgil asked innocently, a smile never leaving his face. John had turned now as well; he slammed his hand down on Gordon's shoulder, startling him.

"Guys. Stop. Now." He said warningly. "None of us are in the mood." Virgil seemed to shrink back, his smile faded as he heeded his brothers words. But Gordon yelled again.

"He's allowed to laugh? He's allowed to mock me and I'm not allowed to get mad? Oh yeah, that's fair!"

"Gordon!" John warned. "Stop being so childish!"

"Oh come on! Me again! I'm not the one who has gone gallivanting off into the jungle because I had a scary dream!"

"Gordon!" John shouted this time.

"I'm not the one who disobeyed Dad's orders, slammed doors and then runs off because I think I'm better than everyone else!"

By this time, both John and Virgil had had enough of Gordon's rant. They both lunged for him and tackled him to the floor, pinning him down. Gordon looked shocked as he struggled in his brothers' grip. John hardly ever fought, he was unpredictable. Before anymore words could be said, the klaxon sounded and John and Virgil stood up suddenly, dragging Gordon up with them.

"Enough! Let's drop it now!" ordered John, letting go of the redhead, "We cannot keep fighting when there are more important matters at hand okay? We have a rescue and this incident cannot affect how we save people's lives!"

Virgil nodded, defeated, releasing Gordon as well. Gordon stepped back from them both, wide-eyed at the experience. He murmured some kind of an 'okay' when they glared at him and stepped towards him. John and Virgil turned and set off running back to the villa. Gordon closely followed them; Scott and Alan would have to wait. _What's wrong with me?_ He thought.

* * *

**Okay. I know i said the chapter would get longer and this one isn't that much longer... but i'm going away for a few days so this is kind of a last update for about 4-5 days. I will update as soon as i'm back. :) reviews are loved xx**


	16. Chapter 16: Deepest Fears

John, Virgil and Gordon ran into their father's office which by now had turned into Command Control and stood at the desk waiting for their orders. Jeff sighed as he looked at Gordon and Virgil who were both covered in mud and leaves. "I don't want to know." He said, waving a hand in dismissal to their appearances. "I just hope that it is behind you and that I will not affect this operation in any way, shape or form."

"No sir." came the reply from John, as he glared between his two brothers. Gordon tried to change the situation by asking, "What seems to be the problem?"

Jeff looked away from his sons and turned to the screen behind him. "A Nepalese ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean is sinking. Crew of 117, no livestock, just a large fishing boat. The coastguards can't get to them due to the bad weather. There's a storm." Jeff turned back around to see his sons "Virgil take TB2 and use the rescue platform to pull them all to safety in groups at a time. John co-pilot and go down onto the platform to explain things to the captain and keep things under control down there. Gordon, load TB4 aboard just in case." The boys all ran to their respective silo doors "Thunderbirds are go!". The doors closed and the boys shot down towards their 'birds. Jeff sighed, they were two men down. This rescue should be easy enough but if it wasn't, Jeff wouldn't know what to do. Scott and Alan had both left their communication watches on the floor in the bathroom so had no way to contact them. Where were they?

* * *

Scott ran a hand through his hair. The klaxon had sounded ten minutes ago, his instincts were telling him to get up and run, to go and help save lives! But Alan would not and could not go back. Not yet. Not now. Not with them. Scott sat back once more, his back against the wall and sighed. It had been the longest day of his life! They had had a rescue in Turkey in the early morning, and then Alan had disappeared into TB1. Scott had brought him back and then he had locked himself in his room and had a panic attack. After the first infirmary visit was another rescue that Scott and Alan did not go to, a minor rescue that luckily they were not needed for. Alan then wanted to see them, the Hood attacked and Alan had run. After badly twisting his ankle, Scott had brought him back to the infirmary once more. Then Virgil had come in, restrained Alan and then the bathroom incident happened. That was once of the most terrifying experiences of Scott's life. Not so much the fact that his youngest brother was going to jump out of a window because if he did, he wouldn't have gotten far at all with Scott chasing him and his injured ankle weighing him down. No, it was the fact that Alan had looked so lost, so upset that his father could not give him his time; that if Alan was in that state with Scott and was going to jump, what would he do without Scott when he was in a similar situation? Scott couldn't bear to think of it.

Alan was asleep in one of the four sleeping bags, his head in Scott's lap who was also in a sleeping bag, leaning against the wall. Alan looked to be sleeping peacefully but no sooner as Scott had that thought, Alan began to thrash around, eyes remaining closed but his body trapped in his sleeping bag. Inside his head, he was running again. He was falling and falling and his family were hurting him once more. He struggled as he tried to fend them off but his legs wouldn't move. He yelled for help from someone. Anyone. Scott. Suddenly, strong arms lifted him up from the stream and held him tight, speaking to him and comforting him. Alan continued to struggle and kick out with what little use of his legs he had but soon relaxed as the soothing words sunk in and the grip he was held in became more welcomed. Alan's eyes flew open to realise that the arms and the voice were real, it was Scott.

Alan sat up and Scott released Alan from his hold. The young blonde turned to smile slightly at his eldest brother. "Sorry." He mumbled, looking down "I was dreaming again, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You did no such thing. I wasn't even asleep Sprout. Don't worry about it. You were just thrashing around a bit and you looked in pain so I chose to wake you rather than have you wake up screaming again." Scott smiled reassuringly at Alan as the youngest Tracy lay back down again in Scott's lap. Scott put his arm protectively over Alan once more and this time and they both fell into undisturbed sleeps, Scott never once removing his arm.

* * *

Virgil flew TB2 over the Indian Ocean with difficulty. The wind was howling and the body of the ship was shaking. Not to mention that every time John turned his back, Gordon would send Virgil glares and smirks. Virgil tried his best to ignore his infuriating brother but with the stress of the rescue and Scott and Alan missing, he was finding it more and more challenging. At one point, Gordon had walked over to Virgil to 'look at the controls' but ended up whispering in Virgil's ear. John happened to look round at this point to see Virgil's forehead crease with frustration and instantly grabbed Gordon's uniform and forced him back into his seat.

"Enough, Gordon. Now. This is a rescue, do not disrupt Virgil, do not annoy him or me and quit smirking!" Gordon's smile dropped and he breathed some sigh of an 'understood'. John went back to his seat and leant over to Virgil.

"Do not let him get to you. He is as immature as Alan, maybe even worse. We all know what he can be like and we just have to deal with it. He is angry at the moment as we all are, but Alan is Gordon's only younger brother, the only one he can look after like we can him. He probably feels like he's failed him. We cannot keep losing our temper with the redhead as easy as it may be." Virgil too let out an acknowledgement and John patted his shoulder as a thank you.

"We are nearing the danger zone now. John, get the rescue platform ready with Gordon and suit up to go down there. I'll try to keep her as steady as possible" Said Virgil, switching into a more serious tone now lives were at stake and the storm's winds were stronger.

"FAB" came the reply from both brothers as they unbuckled themselves and ran out of the cockpit.

* * *

Once John had secured his harness to the rescue platform and his helmet for communication was on, Gordon, at the controls of the platform, lowered his brother down towards the ship. John could hear screams and cries from the vessel below as he was lowered closer towards its sinking body. He spotted a huge hole in the side of the ship, he assumed where it had struck a rock during the storm. Some of the crew members were on the opposite side of the deck. When the platform reached the side of the deck where the crew were, several of them instantly ran for it in order to get to safety first. But John remained on the platform and shouted out in perfectly fluent Nepali "WAIT! STEP BACK! YOU WILL ALL GET TO GO EVENTUALLY!" All of the running crew members stopped in their tracks and turned sullenly to head back towards the rest of the men who had now gathered on the deck after hearing the shouting.

A man John guessed to be the captain came up to him out of the quarters and shook hands with him. "Thank you. We are all very appreciative your decision to help us when no one else could." John just smiled through his helmet at the man and turned to face the platform. Unharnessing himself, he contacted the 'bird.

"Op 3 and Op 4", he said in 'public' mode, when they were not allowed to day each other's names around the victims. Scott was Op 1; he was Op 2 and so on through the ages of the brothers. "I am on deck. All 117 crew members are accounted for and I will send 20 up at a time. The elderly and less able first, as always. Standby Op 4."

"FAB Op 2" he heard in reply from both members on the 'bird. John turned back around to face the crew and the captain. "Okay, elderly and less abled crew members will have to go first. Please be orderly. The more you push and struggle to go first, the longer this will take." He shouted in Nepali above the strong winds and the rain. John watched as the crew understood this and began to organise themselves, pushing the more vulnerable people up front to go first. He turned back again to the platform and unpacked and attached 19 more harnesses to the railings for the victims. "Standby Op 4, here come the first load" he said into his helmet. He received an affirmation and began to help the chosen 20 crew members into their harnesses and onto the platform. They struggled and slipped in the wet conditions, but about five minutes later, they were all secure. "Pull 'em up Op 4".

Over the next hour, five more groups of 20 crew members were lifted to safety. There now remained himself and 17 other crewmen who were due to go up once the platform came back down to them.

As the rescue platform slowly lifted away from the deck and up into the air, the ship seemed to sway more and became less stable. The less weight on the ship made it easier for it to move around in the waves and the platform had acted as a restraint but was now aboard the 'bird above. John wandered how Alan would act in this kind of rescue. All of the family knew his deepest fear was thunderstorms and that was the one thing they were not allowed to tease him about. They all had deepest fears, and the second unwritten rule of their brotherhood was not to tease another of them. But Alan had a fear of storms, Scott of mice, John's fear was being forgotten (being all the way up on TB5 for most of a year did that to him), Virgil's was avalanches, from when their mother died and Gordon was claustrophobic. All of the Tracy brother's biggest fear was to lose another brother. The first unwritten rule was always the older Tracy's looks after the younger Tracy's; much to Alan's dismay. They all teased Scott of his 'mother henning' because he was the only one who showed his fear and worry over his siblings. He had four brothers to look after, John had three, Virgil had two and Gordon just had Alan. That was why John thought Gordon was so angry and stressed. They all cared and looked after their older brothers as well, but it was their true duty to protect the younger. Sure, they were all scared of avalanches too but Virgil had the best memory of that dreadful event that took their mother's life and almost Alan's as well. Gordon's fear was ironic for a person who could hold their breath for 3 minutes underwater and for a Gold Medal Olympic swimmer. But they all respected each other's fears and tried their best to help.

They still, at the age of 15, had to comfort the Alan when a storm hit the island. But that had all changed now; Alan didn't seem to trust them anymore. He had a new fear, no doubt that something had changed in him and his nightmares were taking over. How John wished he was Scott right at that moment. To be on the island, in the warm, in the jungle, in the tropical conditions, despite the fact it was night. John would be with Alan, be there to comfort him and to apologise for any wrong John may have done to him to make the young blonde afraid of his own brother. John, or any of his brothers, would never hurt another brother severely. There had been in the past, the rare concussion from when a pushing into the pool prank went wrong, or the occasional push, shove or hit when angered. But none of them would ever intentionally do something to cause what Alan was going through.

John was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by a loud roll of thunder and a huge flash of lightning. The crewmen were getting frantic and John's mind whirled back into a serious attitude. "This is Op 2 to TB2. Come in TB2" he communicated into his helmet.

"Reading you loud and clear Op 2. We are sending the platform back down now. What seems to be the situation?" Came Virgil's voice.

"FAB TB2. The storm seems to be getting a lot worse and the crew seem to be worrying-" another loud thunder roll cracked through the communication system "- so could we hurry it up a bit please! It's also getting dangerous underfoot due to the rain on the deck!" John had to shout through the last part due to the hammering rain on his helmet.

"FAB Op 2. Rescue platform being lowering down to your level now". No answer came from John.

"Op 2. Please confirm previous message". No answer. Seconds passed.

"Op 2!" Shouted Gordon this time through his own helmet from his position in the body of the 'bird where he was lowering the platform. No answer.

"JOHN! ANSWER US!" Virgil screamed. No answer came except a third thunder roll and lightning strike. "JOHN!"

* * *

**Hey, sorry for the late update but i was away for a long weekend. Hope you enjoyed and please review xx**


	17. Chapter 17: Flashbacks and Bullies

Scott awoke with a start. Sweat pouring down the side of his face. Something was wrong. Call it his brotherly instincts, but he knew one of his siblings was in trouble. The only thing that Scott could think of was the rescue, and that he would blame himself forever more if something had happened and he could have prevented it just by being there. Alan continued to sleep in Scott's lap, wrapped up in his sleeping bag and still protected by Scott's arm. As the eldest Tracy son looked down on his brother, he realised he could not have gone on the rescue when Alan was in this state. With that weak attempt of an excuse, Scott relaxed back into a sleep; but nowhere near as deep as the previous.

* * *

For John, all he could hear was the distant voices of his brothers' in his helmet but he could not respond to them. He could hear the screams and cries of the remaining crew around him but could not reassure them. He could feel his body being rolled from side to side by the swaying of the boat but he could not rise or stand. John's last thought before he completely blacked out was of Scott. It was this simple thought of his eldest sibling that caused the memories to fill the blackness of John's mind. He was brought back in time to those situations he remembered the most.

* * *

He was a 13 year old him, bright blonde hair and blue eyes running through the playground crying. He ploughed through a large group of 16 years olds and ran directly into the leader of the group's chest. He had brown hair, hazel eyes and had a look of concern on his face as he looked down at the 13 year old. The younger boy grasped the leader's shirt and cried into it and the leader gave the rest of the group a look that made them disperse, leaving the younger blonde alone with him. The elder boy knelt down to John's level and spoke firmly. "What happened?"

The crying boy looked up into the 16 year old's eyes. "Scotty, he did it again."

"Who did what again, Johnny?" asked the eldest Tracy brother. At the age of 16, he was still the most protective person John knew.

"I don't know his name, but – I should have told you earlier. When he first started—" John wept into his brother's chest once more. Scott guided him over to the quiet corner of the playground and sat John down. He then resumed his previous position kneeling in front of his brother.

"John. What happened?" he asked firmly again.

"He won't stop making fun of me because of mum. He says she didn't love me! That she hated me and that's why she chose to die!" He choked on his tears.

Scott felt the anger bubbling and rising inside of him. His eyes narrowed into slits and he grinded his teeth. Who dared to say that!? Their mother had died only a month ago and that's how John got treated at school! "Where is he?" he asked menacingly, standing up to his full height and scanning the playground.

John merely pointed to another blonde headed kid on the other side of the playground. The kid in question was laughing with two others. This made Scott even angrier, if that were possible. "Stay here." Was the command given to John and he obeyed. He watched as Scott sauntered easily across the tarmacked playground, towering over the other children as he went. The others of his group had gone inside so Scott was the tallest one there at that time. John saw Scott shove the other two 13 year olds who were talking with the bully out of the way and smiled slightly as the ran away.

What happened next, John would never forget. All the kids at their school were intimidated by Scott and his group. They were in the highest year at their secondary school and they all had a reputation. Scott aced all of his lessons and exams, but even the teachers were aware of his anger when it came to protecting all of his brothers. Virgil was just 10, Gordon was 8 and Alan had turned 3 just before their mother had left them and Scott was responsible for all of them.

John gazed in awe as Scott grabbed the bully's jumper by the front and hoisted him up into the air with one hand. The 13 year old's feet were dangling and his face was in line with Scott's red one. John had no idea what was said on Scott's part as it was whispered into the bully's ear. Whatever it was, it scared the child and his eyes went wide. Once Scott released him, he fell to the floor and ran away to follow his friends. The playground froze and stared at Scott as he made his way back to his brother who had stopped crying. All of the children moved out of his way so he could get to him easier. They resumed their play when he was with John, aware that the anger had subsided and there was no more to see.

"There you go Johnny-boy," Scott said, dusting his hands off as if he had done dirty work, "I doubt he will bother you again, bro." He smiled as John stood up and mumbled a thank you. The expression turned into a grin when he grabbed his brother into a tight headlock and rubbed his head with his fist. John shoved him off after about 30 seconds of struggling, he too was now smiling. As the bell went for the end of lunch, Scott's grin faded, "Seriously though, if anything like that happens again, don't hesitate to tell me. I'm here for you." With that said, Scott ruffled John's blonde hair (much to the younger boy's disapproval) and headed for the school building to his next class. For months afterwards, John had asked Scott what was said to the bully, but Scott never told. He just grinned and ruffled John's hair like he had done in the playground. The bully never did bother John again, and for that, he had Scott to thank for.

* * *

Darkness settled in again in John's mind as his body was given an almighty shove. Then he felt like he was falling, or being lifted. Either way, he was no longer on the deck of that boat; he was no longer on any surface or floor for that matter. So where was he? John attempted to open his eyes. He managed it for about a minute and was able to see that it was Gordon and Virgil who were carrying him. He had one arm over each of their shoulders as the supported him. He seemed to be aboard TB2 somehow, but he would ask questions later.

"Hey buddy!" said Gordon cheerfully, "You hit your head and went out cold."

"We're taking you to the 'bird's infirmary, okay?" Said Virgil this time. John nodded sleepily before darkness took over again. The last thing he saw was Gordon's worried face; I brought back more memories that brightened his brief darkness.

* * *

He was in Scott's shoes this time. John was 16 years old and in the last year of secondary school. He was not as feared as Scott had been but no one dared to mess with him because of his elder brother. Gordon had just joined in year 7 and Virgil was in year 9. John had been on the school playing field kicking a ball around with some friends when this incident happened and John had never forgotten it, neither had the rest of the brothers.

He was having a laugh because one of his friends had slipped up in the wet grass when all of a sudden, a red-headed boy came racing round the corner of the tennis courts incredibly fast. John immediately recognised the child as Gordon and wondered why he was running onto the field and why at that speed. It all became clear when five other boys John knew to be in year 8 came running onto the field after Gordon, shouting and screaming. John had no hesitation to believe that Gordon had played one of his pranks on those boys or had badmouthed them in some way. However much Gordon may have deserved to be chased, John did not like the torments the boys were throwing at his little brother.

"You red-headed freak!"

"You'll pay for that!"

"You'll never laugh again!"

"Get back here you coward!"

"Run to your mummy! Oh, wait. You don't have one! You don't have anyone!" All of the year 8 boys laughed at that last comment but it got John as angry as it had done Scott all those years ago. John always had a lid on his temper, and it took a lot to get him angry, but when he did explode, he could rival Scott. John grabbed two of his closest friends and ran over to the boys who were gaining on Gordon. He was not intimidating enough to take on five year 8s even if Scott would have been. He needed support from his friends to take care of the four that were not the leader, and John could see very clearly who the leader of the group was.

John and his friends continued to run, careful of the wet and muddy grass underfoot. They watched in horror as Gordon slipped up and landed on his back and they began to run harder and faster when the five boys descended onto him. John got there first, yanking a blonde haired kid off of his brother by the scruff of his shirt and threw him behind his back. The kid squealed with fright and ran away once he picked himself up off the ground. John's friends had done the same and four of the five year 8s were running back the way they had come, one out of fear rather than being removed by force. John gave his friends a look which said 'let me handle this' and with a quick nod, his friends chased the four other boys back up to the school building. The remaining boy that was still on top of a struggling Gordon was the leader, the one who had commented on his mother. The bully was attempting to pin the younger Tracy to the ground.

John lent down and grabbed both the leader's ankles. Pulling hard, John wrenched the boy off of his brother but instead of letting go after Gordon was free, John carried on dragging the boy through the mud and the wet grass by his ankles. As John walked backwards along the field, the boy struggled and tried to kick out but John simply tightened his grip. With one final pull, John let go of the boy at the right time and stepped to one side as the boy continued to slide along the ground on his stomach. The bully sprang to his feet with a look of pure evil on his face but John was not worried about himself and they were far away from Gordon now. The year 8 had a smear of mud caking the front of his body and most of his face.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? YOU ABSOLUTE—" , the bully began but was interrupted by John who grabbed the kid's hair and yanked it back so he could look up at him. "Owww! What gives—"

"Now you listen to me very closely you piece of dirt." John's tone was terrifying and any one of his brothers would know not to mess with him when he was like that. He was calm but threatening. He tried to remember how Scott had reacted to John's bully, he didn't seem to raise his voice, just intimidate. "You are wrong about him." John pointed to Gordon and twisted the boy's hair so his head turned to see where he was pointed. John twisted him back again and continued. "You are so wrong. He does have someone. He has me. He rest of his brothers. And if you mess with me or ANY of my brothers again, you will pay."

"Yeah? And what can you do? You can't touch me without being found out and expelled! Like I said to the red-head, he doesn't have anyone, not even a mother! You. Can't. Touch me!" yelled the bully. John tightened his grip on the kid's hair and pulled him closer to his face.

"Oh, yeah? That maybe so, but what about Scott, eh? He doesn't go to this school anymore does he? You've heard of Scott Tracy haven't you?" The bully did his best to nod with John gripping his hair. Who hadn't heard of him?

"He's our brother." A simple statement that made John smirk.

The bully instantly paled. He suddenly recognised who John was and what his relationship was with Scott Tracy and redhead he had been chasing. "Oh s-", was all he managed before John shoved him back down into the mud face first. The bully scrambled to his feet and legged it up the field as fast as he could.

John turned back to his younger brother who was sat on the ground in awe. He held out a hand and Gordon took it gratefully. Once he was standing, Gordon received an expecting look from his brother. John wanted to know why Gordon was being chased in the first place, and he was going to find out. Gordon suddenly found the floor incredibly interesting and refused to look in his brother's eyes. John hooked a finger under the redhead's chin and lifted it gently so they were looking in each other's eyes.

"I'm waiting kiddo."

"Well. I… Umm.."

"Spit it out, squirt"

"imayormaynothaveputastinkbom bintheleadersbag" Gordon said way too quickly for John to understand.

"Sorry? You may or may not have done what?"

"Put a stink bomb in the leader's bag" Gordon mumbled. The younger Tracy expected his brother to be angry with him for pulling such a stunt. He thought John would tell their father or worse, Scott. But John just laughed and hugged Gordon tightly.

"Gordo, never scare me like that again!"

"Okay" Gordon said, muffled by John's shoulder. He was astounded by his brother's reaction but preferred it to the other. John pulled away and looked his brother up and down. Gordon was caked in mud as well and had a bruise on his cheek from the year 8s.

"Are you okay bro?" John asked sincerely worried about his brother's state. To answer John's question, Gordon nodded and grinned up at his brother. He was just a bit shocked at his brother, they all knew John could get angry, but wow! He just saved Gordon from a fight he did not want. There was one question that Gordon wanted an answer to as well though.

"What did you say to him?" John just ruffled Gordon's hair like Scott had done with him whenever he had asked that same question, much to the redhead's disapproval. John laughed again and Gordon remained confused throughout the walk back up to the school.

* * *

Black dots swam across John's memories and soon all became dark again. All he wanted to do was open his eyes to see all of his family safe and sound, but he knew that would not happen. He was sedated on TB2 and Scott and Alan were gone; hiding somewhere in the jungle, they were probably sleeping. Suddenly it all became clear to John. All those memories and flashbacks involved the protection over one brother by another. John realised that both times, it was the older brothers who saved the younger ones, not their father. The first unwritten Tracy rule.

They all knew their dad loved them, but back then, when their mother had recently died, he had thrown himself into work and it was mainly up to Scott with a little help of John to keep the family together. John realised what he needed to do, he realised what Scott was doing. He was protecting their youngest brother, a job that John should share with him. Alan needed them, all of them and their father. He needed them like when 13 year old John needed Scott and 11 year old Gordon had needed John. For protection. But what he was going through would not be solved with threats and tough-guy acts or a simple ruffle of the hair. Alan needed support and John would be there with Scott for when he needed it. He would help Alan to trust him once more and then it would all turn out okay.

With that weak attempt of an excuse, John relaxed back into a sedated sleep; but nowhere near as deep as the previous slumber with the memories. This time, he welcomed the darkness.

* * *

**This was my favourite chapter to write! It is also my longest yet! but i couldnt bring myself to cut it into two :) Hope you enjoyed it! Please review xx**


	18. Chapter 18: Nothing is Wrong With You

_"they are coming for you Alan.."_

"No! stop it! Get out of my head!" Alan screamed as he ran further and further from his home.

_"they don't love you, they want to hurt you…"_

"No they don't, they care for me!" he tried to reassure himself.

"_Why don't you turn around and prove it..."_

Alan sat bolt upright, eyes wide and full of fear. He had been in a deep sleep and Scott was there to protect him in reality. Alan had thought that no nightmare could disturb him. He was wrong. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffed. He knew those dreams were fake and that his family didn't want to hurt him; so why was he finding it so difficult to believe? He could see they loved him and that they did not blame him for Lucy's death; so why was he scared of them? The tears refused to stop falling and Alan rubbed his face vigorously. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep but he couldn't in the state he was in. He glanced behind him. Scott was still against the back wall, sleeping peacefully with one arm in his lap, fallen from around Alan when the young blonde had sat up. He spun back around and concentrated on the fact that he was safe, secure and sheltered. The sleeping bag was a tangled mess and the darkness was beginning to intimidate him. A strong hand suddenly grabbed Alan's wrist as he wiped away the last tear. He whirled around to face Scott, wide awake and sitting up like Alan but in his eyes was not fear, but concern.

"You alright, Sprout?" He asked, dropping his hand from Alan's wrist.

"Yeah. Just another stupid dream. Its fine" The youngest Tracy tried to give a reassuring smile but it broke once the tears began to fall again. He squeezed his eyes shut as his shoulders shook. Scott pulled his brother close and Alan buried his face in his chest and sobbed. Was he really that weak!? He wasn't even having a nightmare and he was upset. What was wrong with him?

"Alan. Stop it. Nothing is wrong with you, you are not weak and I do not think any less of you bro."

Was he thinking aloud? Did Scott hear him? Alan was surprised by Scott's interruption of his thoughts but the words were comforting and he relaxed into his chest once more. Scott pulled his arm around his brother again and whispered, "You know Allie? A small part of me is glad this happened. I don't get to spend time with you as much as I should and for that, I'm sorry, Sprout."

Alan sighed and sniffed. "Don't call me Sprout." Scott laughed at his brothers antics, Alan always hated that nickname but had recently given up on correcting his brothers. Until now that was and the eldest Tracy sibling was glad to receive a sense of normality; even if it was a small one.

* * *

On the other side of the island, in the infirmary of the villa, John awoke. His eyelids fluttered as the last of the sedation wore off.

"Nice of you to join us, sleeping beauty. With… umm… less of the beauty." Said Gordon as he entered the room. John was lying in the same bed Alan had been in as it was the only one that was ready made for the boys when they had returned from the rescue.

"You're not exactly prince charming yourself." John countered, yawning in the process. He was right though. Gordon was still in his uniform and looked beyond tired. He had black circles under his eyes and his eyes themselves looked red as though he had been rubbing them. Virgil and Jeff walked in at that point and the middle Tracy son walked directly over to John and placed a hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine Virg. Really I am." John said, pushing the hand away and sitting up against the back bars of the bed.

"How do you feel son?" Asked Jeff who had stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Like I said, Dad, I am fine, seriously. I just slipped up on the deck and hit my head."

"You gave us all quite a shock Johnny-boy" said Gordon with a smile. John winced at that nickname, the memory of the lunchtime bully came flooding back. With Scott there to protect him and also calling him that. This just reminded John of what he swore he would do. Virgil saw the wince and instantly reacted and placed his hand on John's head again. John slapped it away this time.

"Virg! How many times do I have to tell you that I. Am. Fine!"

Virgil looked as though to argue but Jeff got there first. "Right boys, let John go upstairs and get changed. I want you all in bed ASAP. It's been a long day, one of the longest of my life. We will continue to search for you brothers in the morning but for now, I am certain that they are fine. I very much doubt that Scott would lead Alan into the jungle in his condition if he did not have a plan."

All of the boys nodded. John swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "I'm going to grab a shower and hit the sack. G'night guys." He said as he walked out of the infirmary, heading for the stairs. Virgil looked after him with a worried look on his face. Jeff rested a hand on the medic's shoulder.

"Don't worry about him Virgil. We've got two other of your brothers to worry about for the mean time." Jeff comforted, and then left the room just as John had done, also heading for the stairs. Virgil and Gordon were left in the room staring after their father and elder brother.

"How can they act so calm in a situation like this!?" Gordon practically shouted. Virgil made his way over to his younger brother and grasped his upper arm.

"Listen Gords. I'm a bit like you and Scott. I want action and I want answers and I can get wound up fast but I am also like John. Sometimes I can hold my anger in and today I didn't. I'm sorry for losing it with you bro and I can't imagine what you're going through knowing your only younger brother isn't where you can keep an eye on him."

Gordon looked apologetically at his brother. "Sorry for being such a pain. I guess I'm stressed." Vigil laughed at Gordon's words and dropped his arm.

"You best get swimming then Gordo rather than letting out all your steam on me and John." Vigil playfully punched Gordon on the shoulder and left the infirmary with his redheaded brother trailing behind. Three rescues, two missing brothers and fights in one day; their father was right. It was the longest one any of them had seen in a while.

All of the brothers dealt with stress in different ways. Gordon swam and barely left the pool; Virgil became "Virg the surge" and obsessed over his brothers' health but also spent most of his spare time on his piano or painting. John read or stared at the stars for hours on end through his telescope and Scott was like Virgil and fussed over his brothers. But Scott also ran and jogged along the beach, however, not as much as the youngest Tracy. Sometimes his family wouldn't see Alan for a whole day because he would spend it alone by the sea. All of the brothers when they were stressed had shorter fuses but that was to be expected. They lived on an island so couldn't leave home or go out with friends; they were stuck with each other so the only things they could do were the things they did best. Gordon was an athlete, Virgil was a medic and artist, John was an astronomer, Scott was the eldest, protective brother and Alan was the youngest and needed to get away sometimes.

Now however, Alan needed someone, anyone for comfort. All of the other Tracys were stressed and were coping with whatever hobby they had time for between sleeping, rescues and searching for their missing brothers. The family's patriarch threw himself into work when stressed but he knew that that would help no one; he would hunt for Scott and Alan until they were found, along with the other brothers at his side.

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**I know nothing much happens in this chappie but the next one has a lot more action i promise! Thanks for all te reviews! they make this so worth writing! xx**


	19. Chapter 19: Did You See That!

John and Gordon trudged through the jungle. They had backpacks of supplies in case of an emergency scenario or another injury. Gordon didn't understand why they needed them, if they found Scott and Alan they were going to be in a good state. After all, they had only been gone for one night and they could all trust Scott to look after the youngest of the family. The redhead understood that their brothers could be hungry or hurt but they weren't too far away from the house if that was to be the situation. For John however, carrying the food and other supplies on his back was just another link in the chain for his plan.

The second Tracy brother had not slept well the night before; not that he would tell anyone, especially Virgil. He had been thinking and rethinking about the flashbacks and the decision he had come to. Was it really the right way to go about this? Would it just make things worse? What would they think? Would they agree?

Gordon and John had split up from Jeff and Virgil half an hour before and neither of the groups were having any luck. Finding missing people wasn't usually on the International Rescue's radar but they had the skill and the knowledge to know that footprints and water sources were what they were looking for. Footprints lead to the person (or people in this case) and they would never be too far away from a water supply in order to survive.

The Tracy patriarch and the family medic were currently on the beach on the outskirts of the jungle, keeping in contact with the other search party via the watch coms. They had had no luck and any trace of footprints would have been washed away with the tide. Scott was clever, he wouldn't leave trails or evidence but he couldn't stay in one play for a long time. None of them could. They all lived for thrills and were impatient; remaining still wasn't an option. Scott and Alan would have to come out of where they were hiding.

John and Gordon were at the stream where Alan had fallen and sprained his ankle. Apparently his dreams were based on the spot where Gordon was standing. John knelt down to the water's edge opposite Gordon on the other side of the stream to search for any sign if anyone being there since the Hood's attack when Alan had ran. He could see no footprints or anything out of place but suddenly the ground was coming closer towards his body and he fell forward. Face first into the stream. As he pushed himself instantly upright, John could hear laughter. Gordon.

* * *

Just minutes before that event, Alan limped through the undergrowth of the jungle. He and Scott had decided to get water for the stream nearby but Scott wouldn't let Alan go to that place alone. As he continued to limp faster and faster, further and further away from the hollow, Alan could hear footsteps behind him. He was not afraid though. He knew it was Scott trying to keep up. Alan had gotten himself a head start at the hollow whilst Scott was looking for containers or bottles to carry the water back with. Although Alan couldn't yet walk without a limp, he was trying that day to at least learn some speed.

All of a sudden Alan was yanked down hard to the floor of the jungle by the back of his collar as he approached the stream. He collapsed in a heap on the ground as was about to yell for Scott when a hand clamped over his mouth. His ankle began to throb again as he had fallen on it awkwardly. Alan was dragged along the floor into a nearby cluster  
of bushes; still the hand clamped his mouth as he tried to shout and thrash out.

Once he had stopped moving, Alan threw a fist behind him in order to free himself but it was caught in the other hand of his attacker. "Alan! Stop struggling will you?! It's me you idiot!" whispered an obviously annoyed voice.

Alan immediately stopped fighting back and relaxed. Scott peeled his hand away from Alan's mouth and released his brother's fist. "Why did you do that Scott! You re-injured my ankle!" Alan exploded, trying to stand up and out of the bushes. Scott grabbed Alan's arms and pulled him back down.

"Shh! Seriously, do you want them to find us?" Scott hissed

"What? Sorry?" Alan asked in a whisper to satisfy brother. He was completely confused by his sibling's behaviour.

"John and Gordy were by the stream. Did you not see them?"

"No. I guess not."

"You guess not!? You've got to be more careful Alan! I did this for you now don't you dare run off like that again!"

"Sorry Scotty. I haven't been in the jungle for so long without thinking of it as my place of nightmares. I was oblivious." Alan said honestly. "By the way, I wasn't running. It was more of a fast limp." He corrected.

"Yeh, I realised!" Scott took a breath to calm down. "Okay, we need to go back to the hollow and come back to the stream later."

"What? No!" Alan said, shocked.

"Pardon?" Asked Scott, eyebrows raised.

"I said no Scott. I'm thirsty now and warn out from running." Alan argued. Scott crossed his arms and looked knowingly at his brother. "Yes I know it's my fault Scott but why can't we just wait here? If we go out of these bushes a bit we can see them from here and wait."

"Fine" said Scott giving in "But if you make a noise we are leaving"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Alan sighed ad he got into a more comfortable position in another cluster of bushes nearer the stream. He could see Gordon and John now. The elder blonde was kneeling by the stream, probably looking for footprints or something and his back was to Alan. It was too much to resist. Alan crawled forward towards John but careful to move slowly so Gordon wouldn't notice.

Scott instantly saw what Alan was doing and grabbed his left, uninjured ankle and pulled him back. "What do you think you are doing!" he whispered, but the anger was shown in his voice. Alan looked at his brother with guilty eyes.

"Right, we're leaving." Scott decided as he released Alan's ankle and grasped his brother's shoulder as to guide him in the direction away from the stream. Alan glanced back at John and Gordon through the bushes and saw his window of opportunity. As soon as Gordon looked away, Alan lurched forward, hands out in front of him. Scott's hand that had been on the teen's shoulder was a useless restraint as Alan's hands landed on John's back. The second Tracy sibling was sent face first into the stream as Alan jumped back into the undergrowth.

"Did you see that?!" Alan asked his eldest brother, a grin plastered on his face. "I pushed him off balance into the stream! That was so cool!"

"Yes, Alan I saw it." Scott said grinding his teeth and cuffing his brother over the back of his head.

"Hey!" Alan protested, his smile gone. "I just wanted a little fun. Is that so much to ask? I've been scared of them both for ages now but I had a burst of confidence. Shouldn't you be happy for me?"

"Not now Alan. No!"

"Why not?!" Alan demanded.

"When you put our location under threat, then no!" Scott half yelled, half whispered. He grabbed Alan left arm and dragged him back out of the bushes where he has pulled him down earlier. "Gordon saw you!"

The realisation of his stupidity hit Alan as soon as he heard the commotion from the stream.

"Did you see that?!" That was Gordon, trying to remember to breathe whilst laughing and talking.

"Gordon! This is seriously not the time for jokes!" That was John, and he was not happy.

"Whoa! That wasn't me John!"

"Well who was it then?!"

"Alan! He just appeared out of the bush behind you and pushed you over into the stream. I'm on the other side of the stream John, it wasn't me!" said Gordon matter-of-factly. "But I wish it was!" he began laughing again.

Alan would have been proud that his fellow prankster had enjoyed his joke had Scott not wrenched him to his unstable feet. "Move!" the elder brother ordered, pointing in the direction they had come, the direction to the hollow. Alan obeyed and with Scott's help, he began to limp fast once more, holding onto his brother's shirt for support. But this time, they travelled quickly away from the stream and there were two different sets of footprints behind them. Following them.

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**Okay, that's gunna be my last update for about a week. Im going on holiday! woop! hope you enjoyed. Please update xx**


	20. Chapter 20: Paths Split in Two

John ran through the jungle, following the footsteps of Alan and Scott in the dirt and also listening out for any sound that could give their location away. Occasionally, he and Gordon heard a slight yelp of pain coming from the youngest Tracy; they guessed that he was struggling with his injured ankle.

They had come to a point in the undergrowth where the footprints had disappeared and the trail they had been running on split in two. They made a wordless decision to split up and went their separate ways. John pulled his watch up to his mouth and contacted his father.

"Dad, me and Gordy had a visual on them. Following them now but have split up as we have lost it again."

"FAB son. Do you need any help? Should I send Virgil?" Came the reply.

"No dad, it's fine."

"Keep us up to date."

"FAB"

John slowed into a jog as he disconnected the conversation. He needed to find Scott and Alan; not just for their father's sake but for his personal sake. For his decision and plan to work, he had to find them.

* * *

Scott pulled Alan closer to his side as they limped through the jungle. Alan's ankle had given way several times as he had strained it too hard when attempting to run before. Scott now had to support most of Alan's weight as the teen leaned against him, wincing in agony as his injury throbbed. Alan fell down with another yelp of pain and Scott gave in with the plan to make him walk any longer. He wrapped his arms around the blonde's torso and lifted him off the ground. He then proceeded to jog as fast as he could meanwhile moving Alan into the crooks of his arms.

"You seriously owe me dude. I didn't mind carrying you yesterday, but this is your fault that you strained it today!"

"I've already said sorry Scott! What more do you want. It's not you who's suffering here." Alan replied hotly.

They'd reached the hollow and Scott ducked inside and dumped Alan in the corner on the pile of sleeping bags. "What! I'm not suffering?! How could you say that?!" Scott yelled. "I may not be in physical pain but in my head I am having World War 3 as my heart battles my head! I have two decisions! A path split in two!"

Alan looked down at his feet but Scott continued, "My heart says to stay out here and let you recover with me. But my head is saying to hand you over to dad so he can end this the way he wants to! Do you want that!"

"No" Alan mumbled.

"Good! Then stop thinking just about how you are handling this. You are in pain because of your ankle and your nightmares are the reason we are here now. I am here for you, for support, Sprout" Scott softened his voice, "But I need you for support too. This can't be one-sided."

"Okay." Alan mumbled again. Scott pulled Alan into a hug and whispered "That stunt you played on John was pretty funny though!"

They both laughed until they heard a twig snap above the hollow and a voice call out "Scott? Alan? Are you guys there?"

* * *

John had continued on some kind of a trail that he had found and was about to call Gordon to meet back up again when he heard yelling.

"What! I'm not suffering?! How could you say that?!" he heard his older brother yell. John followed the voice until he could have sworn he should have been able to see his brothers. The yelling continued as John stood still, scanning the area for movement. "I may not be in physical pain but in my head I am having World War 3 as my heart battles my head! I have two decisions! A path split in two!"

John thought Scott had some sort of recording device hidden in the undergrowth nearby that was playing his voice because he could not see him anywhere. He should be right where John was stood; he could hear him so clearly! John could even hear Alan's mumbles as Scott continued to rant. _Am I going crazy? _He thought. _Am I just hearing voices?_ Convinced that he was fine, John called out for his brothers. Not expecting an answer but perhaps the voices would stop if they were real and realised that they had been heard.

"Hello?"

No answer. John then heard laughter of Scott and Alan. Obviously the rant was over and they were enjoying themselves. John blushed as he wandered if they were laughing at Alan's previous "joke". He called out again.

"Scott? Alan? Are you guys there?" the laughter stopped.

* * *

Scott and Alan sat in silence in the hollow. "Way to go Scott! He probably heard your shouting. You –" Alan began to whisper but Scott clamped his hand over the teens mouth and shushed him. _What do we do?_ They both thought. Alan brought his hands up and pulled Scott's off of his mouth.

" I need to breathe Scott!" He exaggerated. Scott just glared at his brother and mimicked a zip across his own mouth; signalling for Alan to be quiet. The youngest blonde got the message and remained silent as they waited for John to move away or at least speak again.

* * *

The eldest blonde was, unbeknown to him, standing on the mound that was the hollow. On the ceiling of the place where Alan and Scott were sitting, he called out again.

"Guys I'm not going to tell dad where you are. Not even Virg or Gordy. I just need to speak to you; to see you. I had an accident at the recue you see and-" John would have gone on to tell nobody in particular about his flashbacks and his decision but his last sentence was cut off by Scott.

The eldest Tracy could not stand it any longer. As well as being trapped in the same position for a long time (every Tracy's hatred), he heard that one of his siblings had an accident and he wasn't there to help him. Scott felt guilty and he felt angry. He stood up and walked out of the hollow ignoring Alan who was yanking on his shirt to pull him back. Scott turned around and came face to face with his next brother.

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**Sorry for the long wait! i was on holiday :) hope you enjoyed this. Reviews are loved xx**


	21. Chapter 21: Jealousy

"What happened?!" Scott demanded, his face set in stone and his voice serious. John looked surprised, his eldest brother had just stepped out of the ground he was standing on!

"umm- well- i." He stuttered. He forgot was he was going to say and came out with what was on his mind instead. "I need to talk to you. Both of you." He said as confidently as he could. Although Scott was below him slightly and John was for the first time, taller than his brother, he still felt smaller than him.

"What happened?!" Scott repeated in the same tone of voice again.

"What? Nothing." Replied John, confused to what Scott was asking about.

"You mean to say that YOU got me out here, worried sick that YOU had had an _accident_ for YOU to say that nothing happened!" Scott exploded. He turned back around and ducked back into the hollow. Then John got it. Scott had been worried about the rescue!

"No Scott! You're mistaken! I just bumped my head! That wasn't the reason I wanted to talk to you though!" John ran down the side of the mound and raised his eyebrows at the hole in it that he saw. He ducked inside to see Scott sat in the corner next to Alan.

The youngest Tracy looked terrified. "No! Scott, make him go away!" he yelled, curling up into Scott's chest and crying.

"John! What are you doing in here?! Get out!" Scott ordered.

"Alan. I'm sorry. I forgot!" John protested as he backed out back into the open. He could hear Scott calming Alan down and reassuring him.

"Allie, it's okay. It's John. Remember what we talked about? Brothers protect each other. It's just John." John heard Scott say. Alan murmured something that John could not hear then his eldest brother appeared in front of him. As he stepped out of the hollow and stood up, he was taller than John now. "Scott, I-"

"Drop it. You forgot Alan was scared of you; that's fine. What do you want if you don't want to give us away?" Scott asked, eyes locked onto his brother's.

"I've changed my mind Scott. I had flashbacks when I was out cold on the rescue. I realised that Alan needed someone and I feel terrible that it wasn't me. "

Scott raised an eyebrow and asked, "So what are you saying?"

John sighed. "I'm basically saying I'm jealous of you bro." John looked embarrassed. "Can we change the subject now?" he begged. Scott laughed and clapped a hand in John's shoulder.

"Sure Johnny-boy. There's someone that wants to see you." He said, guiding John back into the hollow and sitting down next to Alan.

The boy in question was perched cross-legged on top of all the sleeping bags. He gave a weak smile to John. "Sorry about earlier." He murmured.

"That's okay Allie. It was my fault, I forgot you were scared. I am sorry." John said sincerely.

Alan smirked. "Apology accepted John but I was referring to when I pushed you into the stream. I couldn't resist!" Both Scott and Alan began to chuckle as John blushed again as he had done so before.

"So that _was_ what you were laughing about!" He joined in, smiling along with his brothers. "I'm glad you recovering Alan. I am sorry that I was in your dreams in the first place. From now on, you can come to me and I will make sure that you get to know me more so it doesn't happen again. That is, if you're up for it?"

"Definitely!" grinned Alan and John ruffled his hair. "I want this to end. I've only spent a night in the jungle and Scott has already convinced me to give you a chance now. The only thing is, I don't know if I can trust you after a nightmare." Alan looked down, his smile gone. He felt so weak not being able to trust his brothers after a stupid dream!

"Sure you can, Sprout." John said, confused.

"No. My mind gets all jumbled up and…" Alan trailed off.

"It's okay Alan." John sighed as he saw the teen looking distressed. He sensed Alan's sadness. "We'll give it time. If you can trust Scott after a nightmare, I am determined that you should trust me to."

"What are you implying? I'm not capable?" Scott asked with a playful grin.

"No. I'm just the better older brother." John said innocently. They all laughed as Scott pushed John off balance from where he was on his knees in front of Alan. John fell onto his side and lay there, not amused.

"You really need to work on your balance Johnny-boy! That's twice in one day!" Scott jeered. They all laughed again but stopped when they hear John's watch beep.

"_John! Where are you? Dad's going nuts!"_ Gordon's voice echoed through the hollow. John instantly sat up and answered.

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**Thanks for reading :) Reviews are loved. From the reviews I've got so far, I'm glad you enjoying it!**


	22. Chapter 22: Which One's a Lie?

"_I am.." _John looked at the worried look on Alan's face and the anger on Scott's. _"I am still searching for them. Should I head back?" _

_"John! We said we were going to meet Dad and Virg on the beach at 11am this morning no matter what! It's 11:20."_

_"Alright! Alright! I'm coming. I just thought I had come close that's all!" _John heard Scott laugh quietly laugh quietly at that statement. "_I'm on my way!"_

_"FAB. I'll tell Dad."_

John disconnected the call and sighed. "I think you came a little closer than 'close' to finding us John" Said Scott.

"Thanks for not telling him where we are." Alan smiled as all three made their way out of the hollow. John handed his backpack of supplies to Alan and ruffled the teen's hair.

"There should be water in there so you won't have to travel for a few days to find water. Good luck."

Scott hugged John and whispered in his ear, "If you need anything, I'm still here bro."

"Good" John replied, "Because I need to still tell you about those flashbacks I had."

"It's a date!" said Scott as he pulled away from his brother.

"Nah. Sorry, you're not my type Scotty!" At that, John ran away, through the jungle in the direction of the beach. The remaining brothers ducked back inside the hollow and began to empty the contents of John's rucksack.

* * *

Virgil and Jeff had been searching the outskirts of the jungle and had had no luck in finding any trace of Scott or Alan. Gordon had arrived to help them twenty minutes ago but John was still nowhere to be seen. Gordon had contacted him as Jeff had asked and apparently he was on his way.

Jeff turned as his eldest blonde son appeared out of a clearing in the jungle. "Any luck?"

"No." John replied, "No footprints or anything since we last saw them"

"Why are you soaking wet?" Virgil laughed.

"Alan." Was the simple answer the Gordon gave before laughing as well. John didn't have any blush left and ignored his siblings. He walked over to his dad who was perched on a rock looking out to sea. He continued to look out as he spoke.

"Did I go wrong John? Should I have given Alan more time?"

"My opinion won't change things now dad. Let's just concentrate on finding them now and fixing things later." John did not agree with Jeff's decision but did not want to make things worse for the Tracy patriarch.

Jeff turned to John and had a quizzical look on his face. "What?" John asked.

"Where are your supplies?"

John almost cursed. Obviously his father would notice the missing backpack! "I…er. I must have left it in the jungle. Or dropped it when we were running after Scott and Alan." He said, as convincingly as he could. Jeff did not look persuaded but was cut off when Virgil suggested they went back to the house in case the eldest and youngest Tracy children had been missed heading back for food.

As they all headed back along the beach, John glanced back at where he had come out of the jungle. It was a basic straight line from there to the hollow, but you had to know what you were looking for or you would miss the huge hole in the side if the mound.

* * *

Inside Jeff's office, the boys all checked the security cameras for the villa to see if Alan or Scott had entered whilst they had been searching. They didn't see anything out of the ordinary but Gordon noticed something interesting when the screen showed all of them returning.

"John?" he asked, "Where are your supplies?"

Without thinking John answered, "I must have left them on the beach". He instantly regretted this as Jeff looked up from the keyboard, confused.

"John. I thought you said you must have dropped them in the jungle? Running after Scott and Alan?" Jeff caught the look of regret in his second son's eyes. "Which one's a lie?" he asked sternly.

This time, John did not hold back his curse.

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**okay, up until this point i had already written about 18 chapters in advance on a document before joining and uploading them. I have written up to chapter 22 on the document now and have now caught up with my writing. If you don't understand don't worry but basically my updates are going to be slower as i need to write them in my spare time and upload them asap. I will try my best though. i will hopefully update once a week rather than twice as i have been doing. **

**Thanks to all those that review, hope you enjoyed it xx**


	23. Chapter 23: Why Won't You Listen?

Gordon stood, jaw almost touching the floor in shock. He had put two and two together by this point and realised that not only had John lied and if he _was _lying, he was covering for someone. Or more than one person; Scott and Alan.

"You found them!?" He shouted. John stood in front of the remaining family in the office with a look of guilt on his face.

"You did didn't you?" Vigil asked, trying to contain his anger.

"Yeah guys, I found 'em. But-" John began.

"WHAT! Why didn't you contact us?" Jeff interrupted as he exploded just as Gordon had.

"I didn't want to because I – " John was cut off again

"It doesn't matter why now! He just needs to tell us where they are!" Gordon argued, voice still raised.

"They would have moved by now." John said a little too quickly.

"You're lying again John." Jeff warned.

"Just tell us one thing first." Virgil said, still keeping his anger under control, "Are they okay? Are they hurt? Injured?" The medic also tried to keep the worry from showing but failed as John saw the look in his eyes.

The eldest blonde sighed. "Yes Virg, they are perfectly fine. I promise or I wouldn't have left them." Virgil seemed to relax a bit at that fact.

"So. Where are they!?" Gordon repeated his earlier question, though he was too relieved to hear that his eldest and baby brother were alright.

"I told you! Why won't you listen and stop interrupting!?" John said, raising his voice to clash with Gordon's, "They could have moved. I. Don't. Know!"

"YOU'RE LYING AGAIN!" Gordon yelled and strode forward to face off John, fists clenched. John easily towered over the redhead but Gordon's anger was something to be feared at this point.

Virgil stepped forward as well, but placed a hand on Gordon's upper arm as though to pull him back slightly, knowing this would only end badly. Probably for Gordon at that. "Gordon." He warned, "We spoke about this. Calm down bro!"

But Gordon was having none of it, he swung his arm up, fists still clenched, trying to remove Virgil's hand. It worked, but he also succeeded in his fist making contact with John.

"AAHHHH!" John yelled, clutching eye and left cheek bone. Gordon looked stunned. He hadn't meant to do that, he was just so angry and Virgil grabbing him did not help one bit.

"John! I-" Gordon did not get to finish as John grabbed the fist that had hit him and spun Gordon round. Pinning his arm behind his back and pulling it up so that Gordon had to bend down to prevent his arm from breaking.

"JOHN!" Jeff roared. "Release him! NOW!"

John pulled Gordon's arm up further forcing him to sink to his knees and with one final push, Gordon was sprawled out in the floor cradling his throbbing arm. The eldest blonde did not wait for the yells, the questions or for the redhead to stand up. He simply curled his hands into fists by his sides and sauntered out of his father's office.

Behind him he could hear a mix of Virgil worrying over Gordon, his father shouting down the hallway after him and Gordon screaming threats and finally releasing the rest of his anger to his brother's retreating back. John continued to walk though, he did not stop until he reached the beach and took a deep breath.

His eye throbbed and his anger was boiling up inside of him. He continued to walk down the beach, to the spot where he had come out of earlier. He headed down the track in search of the hollow in the side of a mound that held his last two brothers who would actually listen to him.

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**Thanks for reading :) Reviews are loved xx**


	24. Chapter 24: They did it!

Scott stood up outside of the hollow and stretched. He disliked staying cooped up in one space; even if the hollow was very large, it wasn't tall enough for him. He and Alan had had their lunch of a tinned meal from the supplies already in the hollow and he was wondering about how the rest of the family were doing. John, they'd seen earlier seemed to be fine but from Gordon's voice through the wrist-coms, the redhead didn't. No doubt, Scott thought, that Gordon would be stressed and angry because he couldn't protect his only little brother and worse yet, had no one to pull pranks with. Not that this was to time for pranks, but Scott could tell just from the strain in his younger brothers voice that he needed something, anything to help him relax.

Swimming was probably out of the question for the aquanaut as he would dedicate his spare time between rescues to finding his missing brothers. Virgil was probably fussing over John and Gordon as 'Virg the Surge' to show and release his worry. Scott did not want to worry his brother, but he knew that Virgil would cope. He could wait for everything to be solved and things to go back to normal. After all, he and Alan weren't going to spend forever in the jungle…were they?

Scott's thoughts were broken by the sound of fast footsteps and twigs snapping. He instantly dove back into the hollow and shuffled over to his youngest brother who too had heard the noises and looked petrified.

"Shhhh" Scott whispered, "It's okay. John wouldn't have given us away." Scott comforted, also trying to reassure himself. He pulled Alan against his chest and put his arms around him protectively when the footsteps got closer and louder.

All of a sudden the noises stopped and all was silent. Then Scott heard a quiet curse coming from the owner of the footsteps and a sigh of disappointment. "Oh Scotty where are you?" was also whispered. Scott knew instantly it was John and seeing as he had only heard one set of footsteps, decided he was alone.

"Hey Allie?" Scott whispered, "it's just John, remember you trusted John earlier? Can you do it now?" Alan looked nervous for a second but then a bright smile flashed across his face.

"Sure!"

"Great!" Scott said relieved. Then he half shouted, half whispered "John! Over here!" His words were greeted with more movement and the footsteps stopped as the eldest blonde came into view at the entrance to the hollow. Scott and Alan smiled at him but as he came inside, their smiles dropped.

"Thank goodness!" John began, "I was worried I wouldn't find you again and - " He was cut off as he noticed their expressions. They were no longer happy to see him. Alan looked a mix of confused and terrified and Scott, a mix of anger pure evil. "What!?" John asked, defensive suddenly.

Scott unravelled Alan from his arms, stood up as best he could in the hollow and walked over to John who had yet to enter it. John was about to ask again but Scott grabbed his jaw with his right hand and twisted his head so the sunlight hit is left cheek. His left, bruised cheek.

"Who did this to you?" Scott asked, no emotion in his voice except determination.

"No one Scott. I just-" John began but didn't quite finish as Scott led him out of the hollow, into the clearing, still clutching his jaw. When they stopped, he turned on John again.

"Who did this to you, John!?" He asked with a bit more force. John sighed, defeated.

"Okay. Okay! Gordon did it but it-"

"WHAT!" Scott erupted, releasing Johns jaw, "HOW DARE HE! When I get my hands on him – "

"Scott! It was an accident!" John protested but Scott didn't look convinced. "Listen, they found out I knew where you were because my supplies were missing! Gordon got angry and Virgil tried to stop him from losing it but - "

"But he lost it anyway!" Scott shouted

"No! Virgil grabbed him and he tried to shake him off but, yeah… I guess his anger got the better of him." John looked down to the ground. "He didn't mean it, I'm sure. But I probably didn't help afterwards."

"Why? What did you do?" Scott's anger had decreased but he was now interested in his brother's actions.

"I put him in a hammerlock." John said and smirked, "And I may have pulled his arm up a bit too much so he fell."

"JOHN!" Scott scolded but a smile grew on his face. "Hey, we have matching eyes!" Scott said, pointing to his bruise from where Alan had accidently hit him in the infirmary. John smiled as well and Scott clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Alan walked out of the hollow at this point and ran over to John and hugged him. Neither of the two elder boys expected this but John embraced him back. When Alan pulled away he had tears streaming down his face. Scott and John immediately knelt down in front of him with worry on their faces.

"What is it?" Scott asked

"What happened?" John questioned. Alan wiped away his tears vigorously and turned to John. He asked two simple questions that put dread into his brothers' hearts.

"_They_ did it to you didn't _they_? You were hurt too, just like me, by _them_?"

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**Sorry about the late update! Hope you enjoyed anyway :)**


	25. Chapter 25: His Younger Brother Too

His strokes hit the water with great force but without a splash. His body glided through its depths quickly but without hesitation. Gordon swam for all his anger, all his frustration and all his worry for his brothers. He swam for all his confusion, jealousy and disappointment in himself. His anger had gotten the better of him and now Virgil, their father and he had lost John because of it. It was all his fault. If he had just kept it in little longer than maybe John would've still been with them. He sped up his pace a little, only coming up for air when his lungs felt like they were going to explode. He knew he shouldn't push himself as much as she was but this was the only way he could release his anger without releasing it on someone else again.

As he neared the edge of the pool he rolled forwards in the water to push off of the tiles and start his next length. However, once he had and was about the push off again, something grabbed his shoulders and he was hauled out of the pool and onto the side. His head throbbed surprisingly and Gordon realised that he probably pushed himself too much; Virgil wouldn't be pleased.

Someone was shouting at him from his left but he couldn't concentrate, he was trying to stop his head from spinning. His shoulders were suddenly grabbed again and he was turned to face his left. Gordon had been right; Virgil was not pleased.

"What were you thinking Gordon!?"

"Virg, leave it. I'm-"

"No. Obviously you weren't thinking!"

"Virgil, calm do-"

"Do you not think I worry about Alan, John and Scott too without having to worry about you!?"

"VIRGIL!" Gordon finally had a clear head, no thanks to his brother. Virgil released Gordon's shoulders and watched as the redhead stumbled to his feet and collapse on a deckchair. He too got to his feet and stood above his younger sibling, arms crossed and not looking pleased.

"I'm fine by the way Virgil." Gordon said sarcastically, "Thanks for asking." Virgil sighed and perched on the end of his brother's deckchair.

"I'm sorry Gordon; I'm just so stressed at the minute. You know what I'm like! You know it's my instincts as an older brother to worry about my younger brothers."

"Yeah? So why isn't John looking after you!?" Gordon yelled, sitting up suddenly and glaring at Virgil.

But Virgil did not raise his voice or shout back. He simply said with realisation in his voice, "Because Alan is his younger brother too."

* * *

Across the island in the jungle, in a clearing near a hollow, two brothers were trying desperately to reassure and calm down their younger sibling.

"Umm. Well… You see Alan –"

"No." Scott interrupted his younger brother and knelt down to Alan's level, "No Alan, _they_ did not do that to John."

"Are you sure?" Alan asked, making a pointed look towards John's bruised face.

"Yes" Scott said, full of confidence and reassurance. "I promise."

Alan smiled slightly and made his way back towards the hollow. Just before entering though he turned and asked, "How did you hurt yourself then John? Why are you here now?"

John began to stutter his made up answers out so Scott saved him again. "John ran into something on the way here. How's about we explain inside why he's here Sprout?"

"Okay…" Alan trailed off with suspicion but entered the hollow. As Scott stepped forwards and follow his youngest brother, John grasped his arm and spun him round.

"What! Scott! Why didn't you tell him the truth!?" He whispered as quietly as he could with all the questions he had in him wanting him to shout them out.

"Because, Johnny-boy do you really think that knowing that Gordon did that to you is going to help Alan in his state? Do you think it would help his nightmares or his trust in them?" John shook his head and released Scott's arm. They both made their way towards the hollow where they saw Alan inside shoving all of the sleeping bags and supplies back into their corner to create more space.

"So?" Said Alan expectantly.

"So?" John and Scott repeated, not understanding what Alan was implying.

"Why are you here John?"

"Oh… right…umm –"

"John's had flashbacks that caused him to come to us. Isn't that right bro?"

John glowered at Scott, he had almost forgotten he had tried to tell them about his memories earlier and now was not looking forward to it. One reason because he's have to remind Scott and intrigue Alan of how much of a baby he had been about a bully. And secondly, Scott didn't know about Gordon's troubles he had in secondary school near the beginning and John didn't want to be in his line of fire when he found out. This was going to be fun in a small enclosed space.

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**I'm so sorry that its so short! I'm going away for a long weekend but will try to update asap! Thanks for reading. Reviews are loved :)**


	26. Chapter 26: Desperate Times Call For

**Im soooo sorry for the long wait! my laptop broke and the screen wouldn't work! But it's okay now thank goodness. Enjoy xx**

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He couldn't believe it. He'd never thought he would have to do it; but desperate times call for desperate measures. To have to make this choice, to put the world at risk. To let people down and risk their lives for a personal sake. He'd never thought about it.

To be fair, he never thought something of this magnitude would happen. Something so large that it would rip a hole into everything he knew; everything he was sure of and could depend upon. Gone. In a matter of hours, as the clocks ticked away his last shreds of hope. He had hoped he could solve it quickly. He had been wrong. He had thought he understood the situation. He had been mistaken. He had thought he could take matters into his own hands and try to make it like it never happened. That chance was never there for him; it wasn't his chance to take.

His right-hand man had been there, had taken that chance and had deserted him. Was it his own fault? Did he make a wrong turn, a wrong decision? What had he done to deserve any of this, to do what he had to do next? Surely he wasn't that out of line, but the obvious outcome of his actions had led to his next task. He had lost too much, gone too far into the situation that he had no other option but to do it.

When the protocol had been set up, he doubted he'd ever have to use it. They had been close to pressing the button after the attack on their home island last summer but stood strong and revived. Now, he felt let down. Not so much by those who had left him but he had let himself down. Always had to be the hero who saves the day at the snap of his fingers. Always had to be the problem solver and the leader. He was so absorbed by his roles that he had failed to notice how the others had grown too. How they looked up to him and had followed his lead and had become great leaders. Great heroes.

A thick mist of guilt had blinded him throughout the day. The ones who had noticed said nothing, as they felt the same. They were now kindred spirits; lost with no idea of where to go next, what action to take. So he had decided to play hero one last time during this awful state. He would do his one last duty for his family business and he would not know when or if he would go back on his decision. They couldn't go on with it, they were too weak! They'd now lost three of his operatives, three of his family members.

Jeff Tracy couldn't believe it. He'd never thought he would have to do it; but desperate times call for desperate measures. To have to make this choice, to put the world at risk. To let people down and risk their lives for a personal sake. For Alan's sake. He'd never thought about shutting down International Rescue. But he had to.

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**i know that it was really short but i had to show a chapter looking Jeff's thoughts and views. I wanted to make clear that he is not the bad guy in this and all he did was make some bad mistakes that led to how things are now. Reviews are loved xx**


	27. Chapter 27: Spilling the Beans

**Dedicated to my amazing friend Safilagoon.**

* * *

"Wait! What!?" Alan asked loudly, a bright smile on his face. "You did what!?"

"I was angry…that was all" Scott said with a slight smile as well. "And John _was _only 13 at the time."

"Yeah! It's not like I made things worse for myself like Gordon, I got it sorted by going to Scott straight off." protested John.

"Did you think he's react like that though?" Alan said, cocking an eyebrow and smirking at his other blonde brother.

"I was kinda hoping so." John laughed "that kid was horrible. Totally deserved being scared to death by a 16 year old eh Scott?" John winked and nudged his older brother but his smile fell when he saw Scott's expression. "Scott?"

"What was that about Gordon?" Scott asked quietly, looking John right in the eye.

John inwardly cursed. Scott had no idea of Gordon's early secondary school problems. "Ummm. Sorry?"

"You _just_ said that Gordon made things worse for himself, implying that things were already bad. What. Was. It." Scott asked again, slowly and emphasising his question.

"Gordon had issues at school? Seriously! Oh, this I gotta hear!" Alan said shifting his position on the floor of the hollow and leaned closer to John; obviously now even more interested.

"He didn't have _issues_. Just the one issue that… I…. solved for him" John stuttered out, trying to refrain from telling the whole story.

"What issue!"

"Yeah Johnny!" Alan agreed "Spill it!"

"Just a group of idiots from the year above that didn't really..um… get along with him."

"A group! You said one issue!"

"One in particular…" John trailed off.

"What happened? When was this?" Scott demanded again, needing to know all the details.

John sighed. "Does private and confidential mean anything to you?" Scott shook his head, "What about a promise between two brothers?" John asked hopefully.

"Listen John. I respect brotherly promises; you have no idea. But only when their things that need to be kept hidden for a reason. What good reason does Gordon have for keeping this incident a secret?"

"His pride and dignity?"

"Not good enough." Scott replied bluntly.

"C'mon Scott I promised him I wouldn't say anything! It was all sorted in a couple of minutes and I can assure you that none of those boys would have looked at our little brother funnily after I had dealt with them." John smirked and Scott and Alan joined in.

"You learnt from the best did you?" Asked Scott smugly. John nodded and smirked again, congratulating himself on turning the interrogation into a normal conversation. But Scott was not letting it go, he was going to get the answers he wanted, and Alan was just as determined to get some dirt to dish on his next older brother.

"TELL US WHAT HAPPENED!" they both yelled at once, breaking the comfortable atmosphere and then laughed at John's terrified response.

"Okay, okay." John gave in. "Just don't say anything to Gordon or I will never hear the end of it and he will make up some awful prank to pay me back. Or worse, tell you one of my secrets." Scott and Alan both promised, with their fingers crossed behind their backs!

"Basically I was just on the school playing field when I was in year 11 and Gordon was in year 7. I was playing football when I saw a group of year 8s chasing some poor kid down the field. That poor kid turned out to be Gordon; apparently he had pulled a prank on the "leader" of the gang." Alan chuckled at this and Scott rolled his eyes. "Me and the rest of my friends ran over to help him when I began to hear the things they were yelling at him. Just childish stuff like "coward" and making fun of his hair. But then the "leader" said something about mum. Lets just say it got interesting from thereon out." Scott curled his hands into tight white fists at the mention of someone taunted _another_ one of his brothers about their mother.

"Gordon slipped up in the mud and by the time we reached him the gang were weakly attempting to beat him up. I can tell you now that he was fine by the end, just a little muddy and a bruise on his face." John and Alan saw Scott instantly relax at this fact. "Anyway, we managed to get the year 8s off of his and my friends chased them back up towards the school building; that just left me, Gordon and the leader who was still on the floor rolling around with handfuls of Gordon's clothes in his fists. It was nothing big or heroic guys, I just dragged the kid off and didn't let go."

"Really!? You mean that you- " Alan said laughing.

"Yes." John interrupted, "I pulled a year 8 kid through the mud for a couple of yards to teach him a lesson. I didn't hurt him, just annoyed him. It was when he stood up and looked all full of attitude that I had a little forced discussion with him. When that didn't work and he still thought he was untouchable and could do anything he wanted to our family, I played the "Scott Tracy's our brother" card and the brat ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction from me and Gordon."

Alan was in fits of laughter. Not only had Gordon been a victim for once, but John had had to save his behind and use Scott as a way of doing so. John was laughing too, at Scott's reaction. He didn't look too pleased with the secret that had been kept from him, or that his next brother had used his name to scare a child. But even he smirked a little.

Things were looking more and more normal every day. And Alan was beginning to notice.

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**I know this chapter is short and I also know I haven't updated in a while. Im so sorry! I have SOO many exams and stress and stuff. I am trying to keep up with all of it whilst keeping this fanfic alive. I am determined never to give this up though so don't worry. Your reviews are by far the most important thing that makes me want to write more. **

**On top of that, a friend that I have that encourages me even though she is not in the fandom! I love that girl! You know who you are Safilagoon! She has written a Maximum Ride fanfic on that consists of one-shots and she is a writer at Wattpad and has this amazing story called Cliff Hanger. Not a fanfiction but i still think its amazing! If not for her, i would not have updated as quick as i would have done so THANK YOU! Check out some of her work!**

Yeah, so please keep reviewing, it may help me to update faster. :) Hope you enjoyed!


	28. Chapter 28: Scream

Dizziness took over him as he rolled over from the bottom of the hill. Yet again he had landed by the stream and his brothers were looking down on him. His hands were restrained behind his back by his father and he felt numb and limp before everything went black.

* * *

Alan awoke screaming and was roughly pulled against something hard but comforting. He sobbed into it as something circled his back, attempting to sooth him. When he opened his eyes, everything seemed dark and gloomy; he guessed it was night. He pulled away and whipped away his tears, still quivering a little. When an object came out of nowhere and touched his shoulder he screamed and leapt back towards the comforting object. It scared him, it was reaching out for him again and Alan screamed again; louder this time. Suddenly he had a clamp over his mouth and he could make a noise or protest. The tears started again.

* * *

Scott was snatched from his sleep by a scream. He instantly sat up in the dark and fumbled around, trying to find the source of the noise. His hand snagged Alan's sleeping bag and roughly pulled the boy up against his chest. He rubbed circles on his back to calm him down and gradually, the crying subsided and Alan pulled away, still shaking. It must have been one of the worse dreams yet for him to be in this state. Just as the eldest sibling thought that all was well, a second scream erupted from the Alan and he leapt towards Scott's chest once more. Scott held him of course, but was confused until he saw something reaching out to the youngest Tracy. Alan screamed again and curled up into a ball. Scott clamped his hand over the screaming mouth; the sound would have woken the whole island! Especially if the others were still out searching for them. He felt his hand suddenly become drenched in tears so he pulled his brother close.

* * *

John wasn't sleeping well, he could not get comfortable in the hollow and Alan kept whimpering in his sleep. He contemplated going over to his brother but it could worsen his dream further. He thought about waking Scott, but he did not want to worry his elder brother over something that could be nothing. After all, Alan had been fine all day, he could just be dreaming like anyone else in the world usually would. He was dragged out of his thoughts by a sudden loud scream. John sat up instantly to see Scott awake and holding Alan in his arms, up against his chest. Alan pulled away and tried to pull himself together and so John took his opportunity to see if his younger brother was alright. He placed a hand on Alan's shoulder to comfort him but the teen screamed again and jumped back against Scott who looked shocked. John shuffled forward on the floor of the hollow, attempting to get closer to sooth his brother._ Surely Alan wouldn't still be afraid of me?_ He thought. But another scream shattered the silence of the night before Scott clamped a hand over Alan's mouth and pulled him closer. John sighed, he had never assumed his brother was this bad, their dad _had_ made the wrong decision.

* * *

Virgil had just recovered from what his father had told him. IR was officially down. He couldn't believe it, but he was secretly comforted that his dad was beginning to open his eyes and see the situation with his sons. Gordon however only saw the negative sides. He saw it as Scott, Alan and John's selfishness that they would let it happen. There had been another argument between the two remaining brothers so Virgil had decided to take a walk. It was starting to get brighter in the early morning on the island, but Virgil had his mind fixed on other things for once to notice the sunrise that would usually send his scurrying for his paint set.

"Because Alan is his younger brother too." He had said to an angry Gordon that day. At that moment, he had realised that John did care about him, Gordon and Alan, but that it was Alan that had needed him the most out of his three younger siblings. Virgil sighed, _why hadn't I seen it?_

A scream came out of nowhere and Virgil began to run towards the sound. He pulled his wrist com to his mouth and shouted for Gordon to help him out. "I HEAR SCREAMING! I think I've found them!" he yelled as he continued to run. The brightness allowed Virgil to see a little far ahead of himself, the light was become more orange by the second. But he didn't have time to realise that, as a flash of blonde hair, shorter than himself sent him falling over backwards with the other person on top. He grabbed the arms his attacker and stood up, pushing them up in front of him, never letting go. He gasped and raised his wrist com to send a message to Gordon who was out looking for him, no doubt with their father.

"Alan?"


	29. Chapter 29: Hunted

_Two minutes earlier_

After the hand clamped his mouth, Alan had calmed down and realised that someone was there. He wasn't scared because he knew who it was and Scott would ward off the thing trying to snatch him into the darkness. He relaxed and the hand was removed and placed on his shoulder as a sign of comfort.

"You okay Allie? You gave us quite a scare." Asked the worried voice of his eldest brother.

"Us?" Alan asked quickly, beginning to get worked up again. _Am I still dreaming? Who else is here?_

"Calm down, Alan." Scott said, "John's here too. Remember?"

Of course; the hand reaching out would have been his other brother. Alan was at peace and relaxed once more into Scott. He heard shuffling and then a body lay next to him, wrapping his arm protectively over his torso and holding him close. John. The youngest Tracy now knew he had another person he could rely on, another person he could trust.

Thinking back to his nightmare, Alan realised that John's image wasn't clear, he had been blurred and almost invisible, as if he was leaving the side of their father. A smile grew on his lips as he settled down surrounded by his brothers.

"I HEAR SCREAMING! I think I've found them!"

Alan shot up and John's arm was ripped away. Scott was instantly up as well, reassuring Alan that the voice wasn't going to hurt him. But Alan was transfixed.

_It's going to get me. They are going to find me. They are going to find my brothers. What will they do to me? What will they do to Scott and John!? _

A desperate need to protect his loved ones took over the young Tracy. He rose to his shaky feet, ignoring the hands attempting to pull him back down and the feeling in his gut. He had to get away from the voice. He had to make sure it wouldn't hurt Scott or John. He ran out of the hollow into the night, hearing only the shouts from behind him and the footsteps coming his way.

He tried to lead the noise away from the hollow but ended up running straight into its arms. Alan fell down hard on top of something equally as shocked as he was. Roughly, he was hauled to his feet and held restrained in front of it. He wished so hard for Scott to be there, to save him, or John to be there, to comfort him. _Why had he ran?_ _It was just a nightmare and it had been over! Had it started again?_ _Why hadn't he stayed and listened to Scott? Why was he such a-_

_"_Alan?" the voice asked, half shocked and half relieved. "God I'm so glad I found you!" The voice suddenly sounded familiar, not sinister or scary. It had a form, a body that pulled Alan close and hugged him.

Alan recognised the voice immediately. It was one of the laughs from his nightmares that taunted him and watched him as he suffered. "SCOTT!" He yelled, "SCOTT, JOHN!"

"Jeez, Alan. Calm down, Sprout!" the voice said again, releasing Alan from the hug and letting go of his arms. As soon as the younger Tracy was free though, he turned and ran. "ALAN!" yelled the voice.

"OH NO! ALAN!" shouted another, it sounded stressed, worried and not too far ahead.

"SCOTT!" Alan retorted, still running through the trees, pushing the vines out of his way. Trying to escape the voice behind him that was following him and shouting his name. Two new voices were behind him as well, both yelling and running.

"GORDON! DAD! He's up ahead." Alan heard the first voice shout. He whimpered. He felt like he was a criminal; he was being hunted.

"JOHN! SCO-" Alan was cut off as arms coiled around his own and his body was pulled down to the floor. His legs crumpled under him and he landed on his stomach, trapped under the person who had brought him down. His attacker instantly twisted the teen around and Alan found himself lying on his back, legs stuck under someone who was leaning over him. Hands grasped his chin as tears fell and Alan's head was lifted up so he was looking into the eyes of a figure from his nightmares.

"Scott." It had supposed to be a shout for help but it came out as a loud sob. He was done for. They had caught him. He tried to move his legs but they were well and truly trapped under the figure. He attempted to push them off but his arms were caught in one fist and pushed back down to his chest.

"Alan! Quit it will you! You're not going anywhere just yet, just calm down and wait." The attacker's voice wasn't like the first, nor was it one he could trust. Alan found his voice and began to yell. "SCOTT! OVER HERE! HELP!"

* * *

Scott ran as fast as he possibly could through the jungle, listening for any signs of his youngest brother or any voices that could lead him to him. He was angry at Alan for running but mainly at himself for letting him get away. John was beside him, as worried as his elder sibling as listening out.

"JOHN! SCO-" They instantly stopped and turned in the direction of their youngest brother's voice. He had been cut off so he had either fallen or the rest of the family had found him. Whichever way, Scott and John both knew that Alan needed them.

After a minute, all was silent and the two eldest brothers were just about to change direction when they heard the yelling. "SCOTT! OVER HERE! HELP!" Following the voice, they soon came across Alan who was crying. He was on the floor, pinned down, by Gordon.

" Alan! Shut up will ya!" Gordon whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you! I just want you home!"

" HEY!" A shout behind the redhead caused him to turn. As soon as his eyes were off of his younger brother, a fist contacted his jaw and his head was snapped back down. Gordon cursed and clasped his mouth, rolling onto the floor besides Alan.

"That's for John."

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**Thanks for reading! Cliff hanger for you there! What do you think's going to happen next? **


	30. Chapter 30: Reunited

Scott's fist stung. He had punched his own brother without a second thought. Gordon had hurt John and had been scaring Alan to death. Scott winced as he thought about how hard he had actually hit his aquatic brother. Nonetheless, he lent forwards and gave Alan a hand off of the floor. The youngest Tracy instantly flung himself into his brother and held on tightly. Scott returned the hug and tried to comfort the hysteric teen.

John on the other hand had been watching Gordon. The redhead had rolled off of Alan clutching his mouth; John guessed that Scott had hit his jaw. As Gordon stood up and regained his balance, John winced at the bruise on his younger brothers face. Gordon looked confused to start with but when he saw Scott and Alan, anger took over.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" he yelled, marching over to the pair and standing up tall against his eldest brother. Scott pulled away from Alan and pushed the blonde Tracy behind him; for protection.

"That was because you hit John. And let's be honest, John would not have retaliated quite like that." Scott stated simply.

Scott's calmness annoyed Gordon further. "THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I didn't mean to hit him!"

"AND! You managed to pull Alan to the ground and terrify him without a care in the world about how HE felt! Why do you think he was running!?"

"Didn't want to go home?"

"NO GORDON! He was scared! Can't you see that yet!"

"Well maybe he wouldn't be scared if he spent more time with the family instead of hiding from us in the woods!"

"HE'S SCARED!"

"SO AM I!" Gordon shouted, letting slip his feelings. He instantly quietened and looked down at his feet, letting his shoulders fall. He no longer stood up to Scott but took a step back and sighed.

All of a sudden, branches we pushed to the side and Virgil and Jeff appeared behind them. Alan instantly ran around to the front of Scott so his body could block his view of the figures from his nightmares. Gordon walked around the other side to stand with his father and John moved closer to Alan, resting a hand on his shoulder. Alan didn't flinch.

Scott turned around, leaving Alan at his back. "What? Surprised to see us?" He asked sarcastically.

"No! I'm relieved!" Jeff said, exasperated. Then he glanced to his left to see Gordon's face and his eyes hardened. "What's going on here!?"

"Oh! You missed the show, Dad. Gordon learnt a valuable lesson!" Scott said again, turning the whole situation into a joke for him and John who was chuckling behind him, hand still on Alan's shoulder.

"Scott, come on man! I didn't learn squat! Apart from that you have an even more serious anger issue than I originally thought."

" Would you like to touch Alan again and we'll see if I can't aim the lesson a little lower?" Scott said, smirking. Gordon paled and Jeff spoke up again.

"ENOUGH! I've had enough of all of this! Whatever the problem is, it'll do no good being separated like this. So all of you get home and we can sort this out."

"That'll do no good either dad." John said meaningfully.

"Why ever not?"

"Because only three of you will be following that instruction." John indicated to his father, Virgil and Gordon.

"John! This is not up for discussion-"

"Yes, Dad. It is!" Scott interrupted. "You do not understand!"

"Because I've been left out! You took Alan to the jungle Scott!"

"I am aware of that thank you!"

"For goodness sake, Scott. Can't you see that splitting up this family was the worst decision to make!?"

"For goodness sake, Dad." Scott mimicked. "Can't you see that it was YOU that made the wrong decision!?"

"I'm not playing games Scott." Jeff said sternly.

"Neither am I! Do you think that we went to the jungle to play hide-and-seek!? NO! We did it because Alan needed time; time that you refused to give him! This is as much my fault as it is yours!"

"It's not your fault

Scott." A small voice from behind the eldest Tracy sibling said. "At all."

"Alan." Jeff said, trying to step around Scott. But Scott followed suit, blocking their father from seeing Alan, standing up tall and keeping his brother behind him. "Scott! He's my son!"

"Dad! He's my brother!" Scott mimicked again, he was getting sick to death of their father and needed a means of escape. John saw Scott tense with frustration and gripped Alan's shoulder tighter; indicating that he needed to be ready to move.

"Scott." Virgil spoke up for the first time, "I'm sure Dad will give Alan the time he needs now he knows he needs it. But you just need to come home, we all need to be with Alan."

"I couldn't agree more Virg." Scott said, "Except that Dad doesn't have the "time" and it's too late now. Alan is even more scared of you guys now. You should have realised that Dad made the wrong choice earlier."

Scott signalled behind his back for John to go. John steered Alan away slowly at first so the others wouldn't notice, then they both ran in the direction of the hollow. Behind them they could hear the shouts and footsteps. Scott caught up with them and they were soon out of sight of the rest of the family.

Virgil sighed, he had tried to get them to come home. If they didn't come to him, then he would go to them.

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**love sarcastic Scott! reviews are loved xx**


	31. Chapter 31: The Realisation

He was safe in the hollow. He had always felt safe in the hollow. The yellow light of the day shining through the vines and casting shapes and patterns inside and the soft ground; never wet from rain due to the protective roof, but never dried out from the sun due to the vines. The pile of sleeping bags and bedding in a corner, comfortable and warm during long nights and never as empty as he felt in his bed at home. With the sleeping bag wrapped round him, he felt safe during sleep. That was, until the nightmares began and he was all of a sudden trapped and claustrophobic, wriggling around for freedom and air that never came unless someone was there to wake him. That was another reason he felt safe though. The people he had with him, the brothers he had to protect him from the horrors of his slumber and the family that stayed with him.

Alan Tracy felt safe in the hollow, he felt protected with two of his brothers by his side. So why had he felt so alone with his other brother? The redhead that hadn't hurt him, but scared him. The one that was more angry at the situation, than at Alan or Scott. Something was going on with Gordon that Alan couldn't place; if his dreams were real, then why hadn't Gordon hurt him? If they were real, why had his brother whispered "I just want you home" instead of shouting for backup from their father or Virgil?

Virgil. He had tried to calm the scene. He had tried to reason with everyone, not take a side and tried to sort things out with just his words. Alan had seen the sincerity in Virgil's eyes as he tried so hard to get them to come home. That made two out of the three attackers that were not all that they seemed. They both wanted Alan back with them, but not to hurt him or make things worse. Gordon had actually seemed oblivious to Alan's fear, he had thought his actions to be childish but had quickly learnt his lesson. Virgil didn't seem at all threatening, he only spoke up once but it was what he said that got to the youngest Tracy, "we all need to be with Alan". If that were true, then why did Alan only feel safe around two members of his family. Why was it so difficult for him?

Alan felt like curling up into a ball and crying. He was so lost, so confused in his own little world filled with nightmares and fear. Back in the hollow, he should've felt safe because he _was_ safe. He had _always_ felt safe in the hollow. But the words from both Virgil and Gordon flew around his head, jabbing at his temples and trying to make the teen realise something important. Something that would change everything; he _knew_ it was important but he didn't know was "it" was.

Inside the hollow, Alan groaned and rolled over onto his side, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to concentrate. He felt a hand on his back and a voice ask him if he was in pain. He shook his head and unclenched his eyes to try and reassure his brother. He expected the hand to leave but it remained on his back. Alan thought about all that Scott and John had been through with him, _for_ him. He regretted them having to choose sides but would be forever grateful for their protection.

Protection! That was it! Alan remembered back to the infirmary, days ago. He had been worried, confused and scared and Scott had said something that Alan should have learnt.

_"…what do brothers do for each other?"_

_"Pro-protect each other? Scott, I-"_

_"Yes. So what are John, Virgil, Gordon and I going to do to you?"_

_"Protect me?"_

_"Exactly!"_

John, Virgil and Gordon. Scott had been right about John and Alan had experienced the other brothers' emotions. They both wanted him home. They, like Scott and John, had wanted to help and if Scott and John were protective, then the others were too.

Alan finally realised what those words from Virgil and Gordon meant; it meant they cared.

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**Another shortie but it was needed... What do you think? :)**


	32. Chapter 32: Problems concerning Dad

John was worried about Alan, the teenager had just lay there, on the floor of the hollow ever since they had gotten back from their "family reunion". He had placed his hand on his brothers back for comfort but he wasn't sure if Alan had felt it, or just chose to ignore it. John could also see the worry on Scott's face as they both watched their brother curl up tighter and clench his eye.

"Allie? Are you in pain?" Scott had asked and Alan had shook his head and unclenched his eyes. Now the teen as asleep and it was just the two eldest Tracy brothers.

"I wish he'd talk to us." Scott said, looking at Alan then back to John. "I know his dreams are getting better but I just wish that he's share his thoughts with us, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get it. But similarly, he's the one that's got to work it out for himself. We can't just tell him what to do, where to go and who to trust; he's got to make those decisions on his own." John answered, looking at his older brother as they sat at the entrance to the hollow, looking inwards on Alan.

"We have to help him though. We all want things back to normal! We can't leave him or he'll lose his trust in us too."

"I doubt that will happen now. No, it won't, I am sure. Because we will not leave him and we will _not_ _let_ things get back to normal until we are sure that he's okay."

"Too right!" Scott agreed. "The main thing I'm worried about besides the nightmares is Dad." He sighed, "Alan and Dad's trust in each other has been tested to the brink! Dad needs to trust Alan in making his own decisions to come out here with me and know when he's bad enough to need time to recover. But he didn't listen. Dad ignored Alan's request for more time so he _did_ make his own choices. The same goes for Alan though; with all these dreams, Alan's trust in Dad is awful. You saw how scared he was of him when he appeared with Virg."

John sighed as well, "Well I guess that's just another thing we've got to work on. He didn't trust me, now he does. He's learnt to so I am confident that he'll do the same for Virg and Gordy."

"What about Dad?"

"What about Dad…." John repeated as he raised his eyebrows, asking himself the same question and trying to think of a solution. He was pulled out of thought by a sudden jerk of movement from inside the hollow. Both John and Scott scrambled inside to Alan who was twisting and turning in his sleeping bag.

"Allie? Alan! Wake up!" Scott shook the teen's shoulders and John tried to peel him out of the sleeping bag that he's trapped himself in. Alan's eyes opened, glazed over with tears. He helped out John by pushing himself out of the bag and then turned to Scott who instantly pulled him into a hug.

"Hey. It's okay Sprout." John said soothingly, putting a hand on Alan's back as he had done so before.

Alan mumbled a few words into Scott's chest that sounded something like "Don't call me Sprout." John laughed quietly and Scott smiled.

"At least you managed to keep in the screaming this time" Scott said, pulled Alan away as the teen wiped his eyes.

Alan gave a short laugh "heh, yeah" then he looked down to the ground.

"What's up Allie?" John asked, seeing the look on his brother's face.

"I don't know. I just… it's just that this is never going to stop. Is it? No matter if you're here or the others are here or even if Dad were here, the dreams won't stop will they?"

"Of course they will!" Scott said loudly, "When John came he started to disappear from your dreams didn't he?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"And when you told me about your dreams first off, I was in them to help you wasn't I?"

"Yes, but then-"

"So what's the problem? They'll sort themselves out Allie, so will Virg, Gordy and Dad. You'll see." Scott said reassuringly.

"I think about that all the time! I thought about Virg and Gordy before I went to sleep! I keep thinking about normality but I can't! I just can't imagine Dad anymore!" Alan shouted.

The hollow went silent. All were in shock. Alan sniffed and looked down again, Scott stared wide-eyed at Alan whilst John gave Scott the same stare. A voice from outside the hollow made them all jump.

"Guys, Dad _will_ find you if you continue to talk that loudly."

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**Hey! Hope you enjoyed! I wont be updating for about 2-3 weeks due to a trip but I promise I will try to when I get back!  
Reviews are loved! Thanks for all your support so far xx**


	33. Chapter 33: A New Addition

Alan shot his head up again, panicked. John instantly placed a hand on his shoulder and signaled for him to be silent by putting his finger to his lips. Scott shuffled round to be at the entrance to the hollow but still out of sight, putting himself in front of Alan. The voice outside had startled them but also made them realise how loudly they had been talking. Of course someone would ruin the moment when they finally got Alan to express his feelings!

"Guys?"

Scott knew that Virgil meant well earlier on, and he expected him and the other two to come looking for them again. But what he didn't expect was for Virgil to be stood outside their hiding place trying to talk to them, instead of contacting their father or Gordon. The eldest Tracy sibling doubted it was a trap though he didn't discard the idea. The way Virgil had acted at the reunion and by what he said, Scott could tell that he was being sincere.

"I know your there."

He sounded slightly desperate now, like there was something wrong or troubling him. It took Scott all that he could to jump out and find out what it was but a glance backwards at Alan and John kept him rooted to the spot but with a longing look in his eye. The middle Tracy son had seemed to be on his own side, almost against Gordon and their father. He had wanted his dad to give Alan more time, even though he knew he should have done so in the first place. He had wanted everyone home and working it out together; and Scott could not agree more. He hated to split up the family but he saw no other choice. The others could chose to join them all they wanted, and slowly the whole family would come around, but it all depended on Alan's trust of Virgil, Gordon and especially their father.

"Please?"

At this, Scott gave in to his instincts. It wasn't like Virgil to beg but now he was pleading; Scott was sure that he wouldn't do it to simply lure them out of hiding. Which meant that something _was_ wrong. The eldest Tracy son gave a short glance back again to see John looking directly into his eyes with the same kind of expression. He too had heard Virgil's desperation and shared the determined look that his older brother had to find out why. Taking John's look as permission, Scott stepped out of the hollow and turned around; just like he had done so when John found them before. The first thing he saw was Virgil stood above him on the slope, hands in pockets and looking down on him. The second thing was the expression on his brother's face; he looked in pain. Not physical pain but emotional and upset. Scott watched as Virgil took a deep breath and looked at Scott square in the eyes.

"Listen. You don't have to do anything but that, but hear me out." The middle Tracy assumed his older brother's silence as a cue to continue. "I don't know what John said to you guys to make you trust him but I'm guessing it was something along the lines of this: I don't want to go against you anymore. I see that Dad was and still is in the wrong and I don't want to be part of it for any longer. I knew from the start that Alan needed help, I disagreed with Dad in letting things go on as normal but I couldn't bring myself to accept that taking him to the jungle was the best cause of action; being a medic and all. But I've seen that obviously it _was_ the best thing to do as he not only trusts you and John, but he is scared the rest of us as we haven't been with him as he has recovered. And I want to be a part of it from now on. I'm sick of constantly fighting on my own against Gordon and Dad, both wanting nothing more than to bring you home. I'm tired of always trying to calm Gordon down and talk sense into him because he is angry at you and worried about his only younger brother. To be honest, if he was that worried, I think he should be here with me now!"

Virgil looked down and took another deep, shaky breath as he realised that he had raised his voice. He looked back up and realised that Scott was moving up the slope towards him. "Scott," he started again, "I'm not saying you have to trust me and I don't expect Alan to either but please just don't keep me out when my baby brother needs me. Not now I've found you." Virgil was going to continue but was broken off when he was pulled into a strong embrace by his brother.

"Virg, we're not doing any of this to keep you or anyone out. We're doing it for Alan's sake, to keep him _in_ the family and to keep him from losing trust. I think he's getting better, he said he thinks about you and Gordon but struggles with Dad. I'm sure it won't take him long to trust you and Gordon will sort himself out." Scott released his brother and placed his hands on his shoulders, "Things _will_ get better Virgil. You'll see."

They both walked down to the entrance to the hollow. "Alan, John? Virg's here. That okay with you Allie?" Scott asked before they went inside. They heard mumbling; obviously John reassuring his brother. It was followed by a small "Yeh." from the youngest Tracy. Virgil was just about to step inside when he heard another voice.

"VIRGIL! Where are you!? Dad's going nuts! Have you found them yet? I swear you went this way!"

Gordon had followed his Virgil.

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**I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! Yeh, I was out of the country for a few weeks with no internet! Somehow I survived ;)  
I'm back now and updated as soon as I could. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are loved!**


	34. Chapter 34: In Scott's Shoes

Scott instantly grabbed Virgil's upper arm and proceeded to push him inside the hollow, intending to follow behind. But the younger sibling dug his heels into the ground and stopped. "No, Scott." He hissed so Gordon, who was approaching by the sound of it, wouldn't hear him. "Let me go and talk to him!"

"Why would you want to do that!?" Scott hissed back, he stopped pushing his brother and turned him around to face him. "I don't want him anywhere near Alan yet if he's as angry as you say. He needs to calm down and come to his _own_ senses first."

"I know that! I'll get him away from here though. Get him off your scent if you see what I mean." Virgil crossed his arms and looked up expectantly at his brother.

"Fine." Scott sighed, ducking behind Virgil and disappearing inside the hollow. The middle Tracy unfolded his arms and broke into a run, up the side of the mound and through the trees into a clearing. There he waited for Gordon to yell again before answering "YES! I'M HERE! What's the problem?!" trying to make it seem like he had been looking for his brothers too with no success; annoyance clear in his voice.

"FINALLY MAN!" Gordon said, exasperated as he stepped into the clearing and seeing his brother. "Been calling for ages. Where'd you go?"

"Looking for the others, same as you." Virgil nodded towards his brother as he once again crossed his arms.

"Were you talking to someone?"

Virgil was taken aback. Had Gordon heard him and Scott!? He decided to play innocent as his brother had asked instead of accused. "No." He replied bluntly.

"I swear I heard voices over this way. That's how I found you." Gordon raised one eyebrow.

"I'm- I mean, I was singing." Virgil stuttered out. Not looking entirely convinced with his own excuse.

"_Singing?"_ Gordon raised both eyebrows now, eyes wide with question.

"Yeah" the older brother said with more confidence now. "You know me. I choose music in times of stress just like you choose the pool."

"But I'm sure there were two voices w-"

"Nope. It was just me Gordon." Virgil added a little more force this time in his argument. Gordon backed off and put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay. Jeez I think you may need a little more of that stress relief music round about now!"

"What did you want Gordon?" Virgil sighed as he changed the subject.

"Dad was looking for us both. I guess he wants to keep us close so _we_ don't go native as well!" The redhead began to laugh but stopped when he realised he was the only one.

"Don't you think that maybe Dad should give us a choice of what side we want to be on. I mean it's all well and good assuming that just because we weren't in the bathroom when Scott and Alan ran meant that we didn't want to go with them. But what if that's not true!?"

"What are you talking about Virg?"

"I'm asking Gords. What if you were in Scott's shoes, and Alan came to you and only trusted you? What about next when you try to help him with the rest of the family but things go out of hand and Dad ends up losing it? What would you do and don't say "listen to Dad" because how do you know you would definitely do that?"

"Virgil, are you saying that you think Dad was wrong!?"

"YES! For goodness sake, yes Gordon! He was wrong. He should have given Alan time, he should have listened to Scott and he can't keep blaming his oldest son for events that took place becauseof _his_ decisions." Virgil's voice was raising.

"Virgil. Dad was wrong about that but Scott has seen that Dad's looking for them now, to try and make things better. So running off and hiding in the jungle is not the best idea at the moment, is it!?" Gordon copied his brother's louder voice.

"Urgh! Don't you get it?" Virgil asked, losing his patients, "Dad wants them back, but for _his_ sake and not Alan's. Yes he loves him and is worried for him, and yes I'm sure he wants him to get better as much as Scott does. But I think Dad just thinks that this is another simple nightmare occurrence like after rescues. That a simple chat in his office will make things all better. It won't though! You saw how scared he was of us, and his own father! Dad is doing what _he _thinks is best but not actually taking into account that Alan is terrified of him. Did he even stop to think about what it would do to Alan if he was forced to go back home and face the man of his nightmares!?" Virgil was letting it all out. He had lost it. _How could Gordon not see!?_

"We think that we're doing the right thing and that Scott's in the wrong. But think back to my previous question Gordon, what would have you have done if you were in Scott's shoes. If you were locked in that bathroom, with a terrified brother who just wanted to escape the loud noises and shouts from outside the door, where would you have gone!?"

"OKAY! Virgil just…. Stop okay. This is really got to you I can see! But from what I get from the gist of it is that Alan and Dad have some serious issues to sort out. Not us."

"Gordon. Alan will never fully trust you again whilst you side with the guy from his nightmares."

"So your suggesting that we leave Dad ON HIS OWN!?"

"NO!"

"THEN WHAT?"

"I'm saying that we should be able to make up our own minds. That Dad shouldn't just assume that if we were in Scott's shoes, we wouldn't have run too. I probably would of!"

Gordon was about to respond when a voice cracked through their watches. "Boys! Can you come back to the beach? I want to find them today and get this all wrapped up. We should look together from now on." It cut out and Gordon turned around for the direction of the beach and started to walk away.

"Gordon! See? He wants it all wrapped up today! That's never going to happen even if we do get them home. With the state Alan's in-"

"Can we just hope!" Gordon interrupted.

"What?"

"Can we just please hope that it _will_ be all done by today? Can we just please go to the beach and help Dad? I want them home Virg, even if you don't." With that Gordon walked through the trees and out of the clearing.

Virgil reached and took his rucksack of emergency supplies off his back for in case they found their missing siblings. He pulled out a pen and a pad of paper and proceeded to write a note to his father and younger brother. He clipped it onto his bag and emptied it of its most important rations and supplies. He then placed the bag in the middle of the clearing, so it would be easy to see, put of the supplies under his arms and ran off in the direction of the hollow. He ran the opposite way to his redheaded brother who would later on discover that Virgil wasn't following him, turn back and find a letter addressed to him that read:

_Dad and Gordon,_

_Sorry, Scotty had a better offer. We all know this won't be "all wrapped up" in one day so I'm off to make a difference rather than trying to fool myself that we're in the right. I am going to be a part of Alan's recovery whether you agree or not.  
Dad, you were wrong. He does need time and if you're not willing to give more than a talk in your office than I will, along with Scott and John. I need his trust and so do you. Both of you.  
Gordon, put yourself in his shoes like I told you. There is still hope little brother, but it's not all going to show in one day. Give it time, you'll see. Just do what you think is right and then your one step close to finding it.  
So, I'm going "native" so to speak._

_Virg._

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**_So, Virgil's with them! woop! Reviews are really loved and really encouraging! Thanks to all that do review! What do you think is going to happen next? :)_**


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